who knew i'd get this far?

these were in my inbox this morning from super nana:

because today is my birthday! there's something strange and liberating about celebrating your birth on the last day of the year. strange in that it's the end of year for everyone, not just me, but liberating in that we all begin anew. being born on the last day of 1949 has meant i truly live my life according to decades!

50's - childhood
60's - teens and what wild times for the last few years of THAT decade
70's - my 20's spent as a young wife, then mother to 3 boys (one right after the other), then, at 28, a daughter. i also managed to totally miss the disco club scene. we started our vagabond lifestyle with children in tow, instead of the other way around!
the 80's - being a 30something before that was the label and really a soccer mom in the states before we went international and lived overseas. this was a fun decade with all of us sharing a new experience together. we were all young together and the coconut krewe still believed the MITM and i knew everything!

and then...

the 90's and yikes, i'm 40! the upside to being 40 (or is there an upside some might say) was that, well, most of the coconut krewe was in high school, in fact, by the middle of the decade everyone was out of university and the MITM and i made our move from the left coast to the right one. we lived it backwards and certainly, not the way most of our friends had done it! from a 2 story house with a pool, to a loft in downtown savannah, right in the heart of city nightlife. the coconut krewe used to laugh about it, but savannah was a favorite of the over 21 crowd! and some of our children were already married!

the year of Y2K and the beginning, as the old folks (to me) used to say, the changing of the guard. personal upheavals, rebounds, more weddings, some divorces, the normal span of life experiences that seem to surround and sometimes engulf a woman in her 50's, but some really great times in between. in 2001, we opened a jazz club and for that glorious time, lived and breathed music every day, except sundays and mondays (unless, by special request or a nice hunk of change!).  2008 saw us come full circle, back to a house, ok, it is in the south and around here, called the plantation! anyway, it's ok with me!

and now, here we are the last day of 2010, the year that started with me being 60 and married for 41 years. it's been a tough one, that's for sure, but i'm not alone in that respect and somehow, we've all managed to make it this far. and tomorrow is another day! and as the MITM just read to me: choose joy! (he was reading vanity fair's proust questionnaire with mario batali)

Happy New Year, sugarpies!

and thanks to all of you for the birthday greetings!

BIRTHDAY CARD UPDATE:

from my party-all-the-time gal-pal aka BFF miss k

it's a long story...

boxer's having a party!

 check out our pal, boxer's new year's eve blogger party! all the details are at her place and even better, it's a come as you are party, so no need to dress up or do your hair!






i'll see you there!

merry christmas to all (even though it's not technically my holiday!)

courtesy of poem-a-day



Christmas Bells
by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old, familiar carols play,
    And wild and sweet
    The words repeat
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
    Had rolled along
    The unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Till ringing, singing on its way,
The world revolved from night to day,
    A voice, a chime,
    A chant sublime
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Then from each black, accursed mouth
The cannon thundered in the South,
    And with the sound
    The carols drowned
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

It was as if an earthquake rent
The hearth-stones of a continent,
    And made forlorn
    The households born
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And in despair I bowed my head;
"There is no peace on earth," I said;
    "For hate is strong,
    And mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!"

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
"God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
    The Wrong shall fail,
    The Right prevail,
With peace on earth, good-will to men."

with love from savannah, the MITM and the coconut krewe (aka the big 8)

today

UPDATE:

the MITM's flight is on time! he should arrive on this side of the pond this afternoon. Thank you all for the good wishes. may your holiday be filled with joy and all things delightful! much love from all of us to all of you!

and UB, this is the MITM's coming home song.



and oh yeah, i forgot to say...

clapton is god!

just for fun because i needed a mental break (because answers are not forthcoming)

december presents

eolai's paintings are available RIGHT NOW! i keep missing his marvelous sales because i don't plan my own birthday presents to me accordingly! but, YOU have a chance to check out his work and catch a bargain on some really fantastic paintings today!

some of his paintings in progress:

he's a pal and known to many of you already, but if not check him out and also, his great cartoons on american hell!

~~~~~

speaking of presents, thank you, mapstew, MJ and the lovely Milady de Languor for the lovely cards!

~~~~~~~~~~

and finally an explanation,

my lack of excitement at the approach of my birthday has been lifted because the best present ever will be here on december 24th! the MITM will be home for 2 weeks! even thought we can't make it out to the west coast and it's too late for the coconut krewe to try and come here, we'll all be on the same continent with only a 3 hour time difference instead of 9! so we're all happy!

let the countdown begin!!

DAMMITALL!

i am freezing!

this is insane

and ridiculous

and i absolutely hate cold weather

the bushes in the front of the house have FROZEN

all the plants on the plantations are DEAD

frozen stiff!


and to top it off, you know what my neighbor is having done?

wait for it...
 

they are installing a POOL!

I KNOW! talk about wishful thinking.

(proper post tomorrow after i defrost.)

(yes, yes, i know some of you are under FEET of snow, but it's all relative isn't it?)

there's still time to help supernana out!

if you'll recall, super nana and her charter school Inner Cities Education Foundation held a bookfair at a local barnes & noble store this weekend.

 they did well, with many people deciding that it was a good thing to support a group of california schools that were performing well in an environment that wasn't always supportive of scholarly endeavors. a few of her colleagues came out to help with the booth and the ICEF's Jazz Band played for the shoppers and store staff. (sorry no pictures of the kids!)

a big shout out goes to sausage fingers for buying a copy of Poets' Corner: The One-and-Only Poetry Book for the Whole Family by John Lithgow  online and making sure ICEFs was credited. 
thanks again, sausage fingers!!

so now you now why i'm posting again. if you're planning on buying some books or dvd's or anything, why not help some great kids out and shop online at barnes and noble? you can use the following code when you check out and ICEFs will get credit towards the purchase of core literature books for their students! it's win-win for everyone!


Available December 12-December 16): Order on line using the ICEF Event ID Number- # 10359396.

All of your purchases on this day are tax deductible if you use the ICEF Event ID Number # 10359396.

it's that time of the year, we're all buying things, so why not try and make our dollars work overtime for a good cause! 

the MITM somewhere

it's december and december is always a that was then and this is now time of the year

if you give a mouse a cookie or come on kids, let's go buy some books!

tomorrow, the charter school super nana works for is having a bookfair at a local barnes & noble in los angeles. if you live in the area please stop by and help Inner Cities Education Foundation out by doing your holiday shopping there. if you don't live in the area, on december 12th-16th you can purchase items online using the code given below and help raise money to pay for books for the 15 schools ICEF funds and administers. 

ICEF English Department Bookfair

December 11, 2010

Barnes & Noble at the Westside Pavilion

10850 Pico Blvd., LA, CA 90064

310-475-3138

Come and support the ICEF English Language Arts Department!

Enjoy the sounds of the ICEF Jazz Band and Choir while you shop!

All proceeds benefit the purchase of core literature for grades K-12.

There are three ways to participate:

 Option 1:  Come into the store on December 11^th between 1 and 6pm.  Purchase Christmas presents, personal books, or core literature (see contact information below for questions).Buying the core literature doubles the benefits for ICEF!

  
Option 2: Call the store with book orders and mention the ICEF Event Number- #  10359396

 Option 3 (available December 12-December 16): Order on line using the ICEF Event ID Number- # 10359396.

All of your purchases on this day are tax deductible if you use the ICEF Event ID Number # 10359396.

contact info: ykavanagh@icefps.org

happy holidays!

because it's wednesday and i am mentally snowed in

nicked from the facebook (you know who you are)



i've mentally got nothing, darlings. everything is in a state of massive flux and i'm feeling like a motherless child, but what to do, right?

drive-by blogging today!

that always works for me anyway.

random finds i'll share all day.

i think.
i mean, i'll try.
we'll see.
ok?
ok.

~~~~~~~



happy holidays!

~~~~~~~~~~~
from sunday's NYT metropolitan diary, a gentle reminder to be nice and and play well with others:

DEAR DIARY:

On a recent Saturday evening, two friends and I were on our way to a housewarming on Lexington Avenue. Around the corner from our destination, we stopped by a small wine shop to pick up some provisions.
As one friend inspected a bottle of pinot grigio, my other friend fumbled clumsily with his cellphone, which flew out of his hands and hit a fellow customer in the thigh. Rather than laugh off what was clearly an accident, the young man ignored our companion’s apology and made a snide remark as he shoved past. Our friend smiled politely and shrugged off the encounter.
As a man who spent his college days in manners-minded Georgia, I take great pleasure in moments when our city — with a little help from the universe — takes the time to reward unnecessary behavior with a corresponding dose of embarrassment.
As I was settling up for a bottle of sauvignon blanc, the snarky customer reappeared and interrupted the shopkeeper in the middle of our transaction. Without so much as acknowledging his imposition, the man demanded an explanation for the “special numbering system” that appeared alongside the bottles that lined the store.
The cashier, who had witnessed the cellphone incident minutes earlier, turned his glance slowly to the man and, raising his voice ever so slightly, replied, “Sir, I believe you’re referring to the prices.” 

Joseph Hassan

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

this is the 1,231 post i've written and the 1,029 post i've published on this blog.  talk about anecdotal entries.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
WHAT HAPPENED TO THE WARDEN FILES BLOG? where'd he go? what's going on?

photos from the MITM and a couple of the coconut krewe

details, i asked for details

details from a far away place

the MITM somewhere across the sea

super nana and mr. matrix livin' la vida loca

miss nan in the kitchen with a micro planer

turkey dinner in seattle

mr. moose in the seattle snow

black friday

 black friday, aka the day after thanksgiving, is the first day of the christmas shopping season here in the states. one of the first stories i saw on the morning news was  about a 911 call made at a best buy because someone had cut in the early morning lineup outside the store where people had been sitting in the damndarkmorning to be first inside!

and then i saw this:



peace, love and joy.

i'm still finding my way home...

food for thought on thanksgiving day

no kid hungry

since i'm not fixing thanksgiving dinner on thursday, i'm donating the price of that dinner to no kid hungry. we can each do something to help. find where you can make a small cut in your expenses and donate that. skip one latte a week for a month and make that your donation. small amounts mount up!

happy thanksgiving! i'm working on finding my way back home...

back soon.

happy 30something birthday, captain chaos!

happy birthday, captain chaos!

november 11! what a day for us, oh, so long ago! the MITM and i had gone to a lamaze class and were just lounging around (ok, lounging for me was more like wedging myself in a corner of the couch so that i could breath and be upright!) wondering when things were going to happen and when we'd finally be three people living in our little house and not 1 person and one giant beached whale (yes, that would have been me.) our fantastic v-8 dodge had been wrecked a week before, so we were without wheels, so of course, you know this story went downhill fast. labor pains started and seemed to go from, "damn, that was uncomfortable" to "sweet mary sunshine, this kid is coming NOW!" we called the MITM's grandfather who lived only a few blocks away and within minutes, he was at the door - beautiful cadillac and all! the ride from our house to good samaritan hospital wasn't very far, but poor milton (that was his name) had no idea about the noise a panting lamaze mom makes. everytime i'd do shallow breathing, he'd hit the pedal, when i started doing the rapid breathing, he'd start honking the horn and speeding. i swear, to this day i wonder how we even made it to the hospital without an accident!

for a first baby, captain chaos was an easy birth and an even easier baby to deal with. in fact, he was so good, we had three more after him!

happy birthday to our sweet angel baby and #1 son!  drop by, if you can and give him a shoutout!

fall back (yeah, i know, how original am i?)

good thing this all happens on the weekend!

go on, go change your clocks, you know you forgot last night!

San Francisco Giants!

i nicked this from my favorite city by the bay girl, unknown mami because she's right, somehow during the mess called the 2010 mid-term elections, the marvelous win by the SF Giants over the texas rangers in the world series got lost. some of you might not know this, but i was born in san francisco and to this day i still love the 49ers and the giants! the city by the bay will always hold a special place in my heart and if i could, i'd move there again! (ok, maybe not in the city, but really close!)

november 3rd

this is a placeholder post. please be aware that a new post will appear soon.

update for clarification: this dated post is not a harbinger of things to come. we will resume our regular witty and hopefully, pithy titles soon.

November 2, 2010

halloween redux or stuff that arrived late last night

super kitty bakes punkin pie

from super nana:"Oh my god! i just noticed you have 92 followers and you have me up there dressed like a cat?!"  my daughter, have you met her?  (she's so funny!)


"

dr. t

Happy REAL Halloween!

by captain chaos

by super nana

by mr. matrix

from savannah, the MITM and coconut krewe!

  with a hat tip to the king of new york hacks

http://www.makemezombie.com 

the MITM is calling YOU

super nana

the other babygirl

mr.matrix

 

things i get in my inbox...

halloween dog costumes (click on the link, it's fixed now to see the costumes) came to me via skirt magazine.

my little town has decided that trick or treating will be held on saturday evening, instead of sunday WHICH IS WHEN HALLOWEEN REALLY IS! (can you tell i'm a bit put off by the arrogance?) anyway, it seems that some christian people decided that it was inappropriate to celebrate halloween on sunday because sunday is a day of worship. well, the jewish members of our community said so, you'll do it on saturday which is our day of worship? the mayor and county supervisors said, but the sabbath ends at sundown, so all y'all are covered!

i have no idea why the city and county are doing this. saturday is the big florida - georgia game down in jacksonville (college football is MASSIVE in the south), it's game 3 of the world series, it's the 1st day of the SCAD (savannah college of art & design) savannah film festival AND i know of at least a dozen adult parties that are being held on saturday JUST because halloween is on sunday. so here's the deal, how the hell do they plan to enforce this? will the cops arrest parents and children who go trick or treating on sunday? will i have kids knocking on my door BOTH nights? (not to worry, i have a ton of candy anyway)  why in this time of real problems in my little town did the city and county governments decide without any input from the greater community to do this? why is it that my little town can be so progressive at times (civil partnerships will now have access to benefits) and then so easily manipulated by small minded religious fundamentalists?

lions and tigers and bears, OH MY! dammit, i am really beginning to miss big city life!

not a post, but a fun filled day at the beach or anecdotally speaking

i'm missing in action, i know. it's been more than a bit hectic around here, in fact, it's been a real FUBAR* situation. the MITM is closing a monumental deal that has him up at halfpastdark every day and working until can'tseeatnight. now, everyone who's ever had their own business or worked for a small company knows what i'm talking about. i've been his executive assistant, editor, mind-reader, gate-keeper, chief cook and bottle washer, not to mention, driver, hit man (no that hasn't been proven and i have an alibi for that night anyway), but i digress, so, where was i? 

oh yes...

things to share as i've been killing time between gigs (don't tell the boss) because i have nothing appropriate to post about right now...and you KNOW you'll hear the inappropriate stuff eventually.

the euphemism generator

the verdant dude's you don't know jack contest! go vote...or look, it's up to you.

things muslims wear via big barney who was in the wedding of the captain and the girl. i think i posted his pic, but i might not have.

margaret and helen. if you don't read them, you should.

 i don't have anything else, but i will probably be adding to this all day because i'm stuck at the table (yeah, i can't even begin to call it a desk) all day.


*FUBAR = fucked up beyond all recognition (WW2 expression)

i almost forgot some funny comics hat tip to mr.moose who's taking a bit of a blogging break right now.

for saturday in d.c.

the event is scheduled to begin at Noon, on the national mall in washing, d.c. or, if like me, you can't get to d.c. this weekend, you can watch it live on comedy central online.

last thing before i melt into the sofa:

can't keep a bad idea down from the nyt some commentary from thomas l. friedman. it's not long, but give it a read before you vote on nov. 2.

some early thoughts on halloween

it had to be you...

the countdown begins.

Help Celebrate International Kim Ayres Day!

Ladies & Gentlemen, Boys & Girls! 

Raise your glasses and join the world wide celebration 

of 

Kim Ayres Day! 

Today is his 

BIRTHDAY !!!!

Join the celebrations, the festivities, the worldwide feasting 

and 

general all around 

wild and crazy times!! 

his photo that i nicked from his site totally without permission

Drop by Kim's place and wish him the happiest of happiest days!

and remember to mark October 25th on your calendar for next  years celebration!

(hat tip to debra for establishing this!)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SUPER NANA!!!!!

today is her birthday! our sweet angel baby is all grown up!!! it's been a tough week for her, so join us in what's  going to be a weekend of festivities out in lalaland! maybe, she'll post pictures on her blog next week!

happy birthday, eenie meenie jellie beanie!

taken by her guy, mr. matrix, at breakfast this morning

because it's friday and so close to halloween...

 i couldn't pass this up!

tuesday stuff or you can't make up stuff like this!

(yes, yes, i know, it should have read shit, but i couldn't bring myself to have that in the title!)

here's some stuff i've come across TODAY!

and there's christine o'donnell not quite sure of what the first amendment says. and then, she went on to say that  "fortunately, senators don't have to memorize the constitution."

it's true, you really can't make up shit like this! our good friend (i read her column, ok?) maureen dowd, just recently posted a column about the current crop of republican mean girls. read the column, i think she's discovered their real party affiliation!

i know, i usually stay away from politics, but as the MITM just said, today, i got scared by the news and had to share. i long for the days of civility in conversation. i know that our political process has been contentious (i refer to the documented debates in the early days of our government), but at least, there was a bit more wit and certainly, more real conversation. i have grown tired of political ads about what church/religion a candidate professes, rather than concrete plans for protecting not only our right of freedom of religion, but also our right of freedom FROM religion. i'm tired of the "my way or the highway attitude" that is masquerading as patriotism. when are people going to realize that the constitution can't be cherry picked for words that support the exact opposite of its original intent. the founding fathers did leave some vagueness in its wording, but i'll leave that to constitutional scholars to debate. i do know, that where there is vagueness in the constitution, it permits modern interpretations to override older ones as the constitution ages. i believe ours is a living constitution, flexible and dynamic, like our country. our government may be flawed, but it has served us as well as possible and i, for one, am happy to be an american. i haven't given up on us as a people even when i wonder what the hell are we thinking and/or doing not only here, but in other parts of the world.  i could go on, but why? i think you all understand where i'm coming from politically. so, as our best president ever, but only on tv, jeb bartlett said, what's next?

and one more thing, from the sunday new york times metropolitan diary,

Dear Diary:
I travel in the elevator, down to the street and the local coffee bar. On the way, a young woman, wearing ear buds, quietly takes them out and looks down, demurely. When we arrive at ground level, I let her out of the elevator first, and think that I had really wanted to thank her for her act of politeness. She walks ahead quickly, crosses the street, off somewhere, and my chance is gone.
And then, returning to my office, I see the same woman on the elevator. Seeing me coming, she sticks her foot in the door to hold it for me. The buds are still draped around her shoulder and neck.
I look at her, and say, “I just want to thank you for having taken out the ear buds when I was in the elevator before. It was an act of kindness and recognition.”
She smiles, and says: “I have a rule. Whenever I’m within five feet of another person, I take them out. I’ve done it before, but no one has ever noticed.”
When I tell my office mate, she says, “It sounds like this ought to be the beginning of a movement.” Not likely, I think. But it belongs to a time when there was a focus and exchange between two real people, negotiating the anonymity of Big City life.
Bill Wertheim

be nice, love each other and remember, we're more alike than different.

an email from my very best friend

Finding Inner Peace (Hope this works for you too!) I am passing this on to you because it definitely worked for me today, and we all could probably use more calm in our lives.     Some doctor on television this morning said that the way to achieve inner peace is to finish all the things you have started.   So I looked around my house to see things I'd started and hadn't finished and, before leaving the house this morning, I finished off a bottle of Merlot, a bottle of Chardonnay, a bodle of Baileys, a butle of wum, a pockage of Prunglies, tha mainder of bot Prozic and Valum scriptins, the res of the Chesescke an a box a choclets.   Yu haf no idr how guod I feel rite now . Haf a happy daye for th mainder a dis thay.  D   Plaese sned dhis orn to dem yu fee ar in ned ov iennr paece.

 

have a great weekend, my loverlies!

happy anniversary, dr. t & the dancing lady!

 

 

for friends near and far...

just a thought

the past few weeks have seen me coming and going. leaving comments everywhere, but not answering any on my own site. what can i say? sometimes, ok, most times, i am overwhelmed by the thoughtfulness, and yes, even when it comes to the directionality of toilet paper, how adept and funny all of you can be. my impoverished attempts at humor/humour absolutely fade and yes, wither, when compared to the words all of you leave.

or maybe, i just crack up too much when i read your comments to respond. it's true, ask the MITM (yeah, i read them out loud to him from my email.)


anyway, i love reading what you write, the MITM loves how witty y'all are AND, y'all may not know this, but all y'all have made some really, really, really bad times around here bearable.

i like to tell the people i care about how much i cherish them when they least expect it, so know that i love all of you very much and i appreciate you more than all y'all will ever know!

so, there it is. 
now you know.
i'm not really rude, just a tiny bit distracted! (but i love all y'all!) xoxoxoxoxox




and 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, cyber pete!!!!! now all y'all know what to do! go wish our pal a good one! xoxoxo

a pictorial explanation for our friends across the pond

under and least likely to stay this way at my house

over and the correct way to dispense toilet paper

yes, it's true. there are a few things that do manage to ignite serious conversation here on the plantation! i hope this explains our uniquely american obsession with toilet paper directionality.