Monday Things...

Before we discuss the goings on at home, let me just say a word about George Carlin.

I am more upset by his death than I would have thought, and perhaps it is because I can't shake the feeling that he had so much more to say to me, that there was so much more I wanted to hear. He was the first comedian that allowed me access to my dark and cynical side in a way that didn't shame or embarrass me, but made me think about the everyday absurdity involved in living a human life here on this wacky planet. I will miss him dearly. Isn't that funny? But I will.

I remember the first time I saw him, or at least the first time I saw him perform a whole show (I'm sure I already knew *of* him at the time). I believe I was 12, and I was watching his current HBO special in my room, with the door closed. My dad was, apparently, flipping through channels in his own bedroom, right next to mine, and paused to watch the show as well. When he switched the channel again, he heard just a whisper of the show still going, obviously coming from my room, and he came and knocked on my door and proceeded to lecture me on the appropriateness of what I was watching for someone my age (at the time, Carlin was talking about dogs eating balloons and then pooping in colors, which to me seemed perfectly targeted at someone my age). I flipped the TV off in deference to my dad, and flipped the stereo on. Once the door was shut, however, I left on the stereo for the background noise, and went right back to watching the show, now at an even lower volume. *When I was thinking of this story this morning I thought to myself, "I should remember that for when I have kids, make them leave the door open or something..." and then I realized that if my dad had done that at the time, I simply would have watched the show in re-run when HBO aired it again and no one was home--forbidden fruit is always the most tempting, eh? Particularly when you're twelve* It was a tiny act of defiance, but one I think George would have been proud of. Besides, my dad never said he wasn't funny--maybe inappropriate--but definitely FUNNY.

Okay, on to other things...

THE BATHROOM IS FINISHED! HOORAY!
This beast took 4 coats of paint, and after maneuvering in a room that small for several days, I think its a grand accomplishment that I only managed to step in the pan of paint in my bare feet once. I didn't take any pictures before the sailboat wallpaper border came down, dang it all, but I got a few of the remaining French's Mustard yellow paint (which looks less obtrusive in pictures than it did in real life) and my husband's most excellent taping job, along with the insane number of holes that needed patching in a 4 foot square room, and including the 6 holes that were ripped from the drywall when we removed the horrible octagonal mirror. The new color ( a sort of lime/ripe Avocado green) may not be up everyone's alley, but I love it. The new mirror was only $30, the towels were on clearance--all in all, we figured the whole thing cost us about $200--a bargain compared to hating a room in your house forever. Grand total trips to Lowes topped out at 4 for this particular project.


We did, however, wind up back at Lowes (and Home Depot, for some reason that I can't remember) this weekend--I think I could just have a portion of my paycheck automatically drafted to Lowes each month and work off my own line of credit. The fruits of our many home-improvement-related trips were not only the bathroom, but a new light fixture for the deck, and two new ceiling fans (on sale for $59 and each with a remote!). One was designated for the upstairs guest room, and the other, for my kitchen! HOORAY AGAIN! I am always meltingly hot when I cook, even with the air on, so this was a welcome solution to replacing an old fluorescent light box (though I will need to paint the ceiling where the lightbox was--Ruth Ann totally called that one!).

Also this week we tried a little experiment over here--a week of less-meat meals (not to be confused with going meatless entirely, which is something I'm not even interested in doing). In an effort to be more health and environmentally conscious (as well as a small attempt at reconciling my love of meat with my love of animals), we decided to drastically reduce the amount of meat we eat, to find more meatless meals we love, and in general make sure that when we do eat meat it comes from the best possible sources and has been treated in the most humane manner. Thank you, thank you, my husband and I will now don our tie-dye shirts and Birkenstocks and do a little interpretive dance for you, too. Anyway, the experiment has so far been a success, and I feel pretty good. We've had some great grilled fish and veggies, sushi, some Tofu tacos and burritos that totally didn't make me miss ground beef at all, falafel, Pizza with Heirloom tomatoes, basil, and fresh mozzerella, and even a Jamaican dish with coconut milk where I replaced the chicken with Tofu and didn't feel like I was making fake food. Not bad for our first week. This week I'm slowly introducing meat back in, but in smaller portions, more like another side dish than main course. We'll see how all this goes. The Farmer's Market has had some meat vendors recently, so perhaps next week I can pick up some seriously local organic stuff. I'll keep you all posted!

Okay, my fit of home-improvements has me all fired up to clean today, maybe hang some pictures we haven't gotten around to, so I'm off! Love to you all!