Panties! Panties are great, aren’t they? Here, just in time for a long-overdue Thursday Thirteen, are my top thirteen pairs, known or admired, over the years. (more…)
thirteen things we love about summer, here at Chez Wacky:
1) riding bikes
2) eating ice cream
3) hanging all the laundry outside
4) coffee and breakfast with my husband at the patio table
5) potatoes, tomatoes, strawberries, cucumbers, geraniums, zinnias, begonias and hot peppers in the garden
6) cold showers
7) going to the ocean
8) swimming every day
9) playing in the dirt
10) staying up ’til midnight
11) playing baseball and tennis
12) playing all kinds of games
13) hot summer nights
Happy Thursday, everyone!
love,
wm
random bullets for my Thursday 13:
1) Iowa is settling down. Now it’s everyone along the Mississippi we need to worry about. Life is getting too crazy, weather-wise, with the tornadoes and flooding and fires and whatnot. (If you want to see a YouTube video of the “Book Brigade,” look here.)
2) It’s my birthday next week. (more…)
Thirteen Things I Loved About Sleeping at the Zoo
My little Girl Scout and I spent the night at the Oregon Zoo awhile back — they have these overnighters called “Zoo Snoozes.” There were a few things I didn’t like. Sleeping in a conference room, aka Cold Concrete Bunker, with a bunch of Girl Scouts and their mommies who we didn’t know from Adam; the cold (it was early February), the rain (this being Portland). The “continental breakfast” — fruit loops and donuts. Yick. But mostly? It was a blast.
1) We got to walk around. In the dark. And say hi to the animals.
2) The giraffe? The giraffe is such a sweetheart. They let us go into the keeper’s room — he stuck his head through an open window so he was eye-level with us. Big purple tongue, big sweetie of a beast. He is lonely for attention — he lost his partner and doesn’t have a friend anymore. He seemed to really like the kids, and the company.
3) We made “cookies” out of meat for the Sun Bears.
4) We went into the icy-cold freezer to see all the zoo food, and they gave us a nutrition lesson in the zoo kitchen. Monkey chow? Zebra chow? Lorikeet nibbles? I had no idea how much prep time went into feeding the staff’s “babies.” (And they really do consider the animals to be family. I was impressed with their courtesy, their respect for the animals, their enthusiasm in talking with the kids about their jobs. A couple of them said, “When I was a kid, I always wanted to work with animals — and now I do!”)
5) We learned a lot about elephants. Elephants, one of the most popular zoo animals, are the one animal you should truly not, never ever, cage. (Ditto jaguars and cheetahs.) They need to walk for miles and miles to keep their feet and legs healthy, and what zoos — even the best zoos — do to elephants is criminal. (Also monkeys. Monkeys at the zoo break my heart.) (I don’t really do so well at the zoo — I want to free all the animals.) (Except the snakes.) (Sorry, snakes.) (And I would probably leave the tarantulas and hissing cockroaches alone.)
6) The kids got to carry around clipboards and do “research” — it was educational for them, observing the animals, trying to guess what they were thinking, about to do next, wanting, etc.
7) The farm animals were fun, especially the little goats and bunnies.
8) I liked having some time alone with my daughter. We try to do one-on-one with the kids as much as we can. It was fun staying up late in our sleeping bags, after a late-night snack of hot cocoa and popcorn, working on our knitting, giggling. She had a lot of fun, and appreciated doing something completely out of the ordinary.
9) The guides (teenagers) were goofy and thoughtful and knew lots of facts. They were great with the little kids.
10) The zoo at night is the perfect place to let your imagination run wild. I jotted some things down in my journal — observations, ideas — it was good.
11) I wanted to bring a hedgehog or monkey in to sleep with us, but no go.
12) In the morning, we found out it had snowed overnight. It was fantastic. The kids were giddy and the grown-ups were, too.
13) We hiked up and out of the zoo, and along the way saw a peacock, feathers out, happy and proud, strutting along the main path. Then we got to see one of the Siberian tigers we hadn’t seen the night before. They like the snow — it’s in their blood. He was so gorgeous and quiet — he lay staring at us for the longest time, as if to say, “Beautiful day here, isn’t it?” It was perfect. I’ve never had eye contact with a tiger before. (I was glad he was waaaaaaaaaay over there and not, you know, right up close.)
Happy Thursday, everyone!
love,
WM
That’s right, they haven’t come back yet
But when they do, they say they are
Going to free all the animals from their cages
No matter how new or modern
Even some pets, too
So if on your way home today
You happen to find…
A baboon basking in the balcony
Or a lion licking a lemon in the lobby
Or a python perched in the pantry
A wildebeest in the W.C.
With a turtle twirling in your tub
Don’t be afraid, just say you’re a friend
Of their friend
Joshua Giraffe, Joshua, Joshua
Joshua Giraffe, Joshua, Joshua
(woo hoo!)
– Raffi
Dear Thirteeners and All You Usual Suspects,
Do I remember how fun it is to do a Thursday Thirteen? Why, yes I do. Yes, I do, indeed. I’m copying Holly and going completely random. I mean, more random than usual. A shocker, no? Ready?
1) My daughter was in a play tonight. Two classes of third-graders, dancing and singing their hearts out. My heart may have swelled with pride; my eyes may have swelled with tears. It was pretty damn cute.
2) Afterward, we all, including Wacky Auntie and Wacky Grandma, went out for ice cream. (We used to do this when I was a kid, after my dance recitals.)
3) Everything and I mean everything is starting to bloom in our yard! Heather, tulips, lilies of the valley coming on strong, bleeding hearts, the hanging baskets, the hyacinth. My camellia. I am in love with my camellia and it’s lipstick-pink blooms. Go look at the Flickr pix my husband took. So purty.
4) Did I mention that my daughter tap-danced, sang and even had lines in the play? It made that three-day labor seem like nothing. Three days of labor was cake, considering I ended up with the sweetest daughter ever.
5) A weather report: We are here in Portland, Ore., USA. Our weather has gone something like this for the past month: Sun, rain, snow. Hail, sun, sun, sun, rain. Wind, gray, cold, rain, rain. Sun, rain, 75 degrees, hail. It’s like Mother Nature has left Heat Miser and Snow Miser in charge up there, I’m not kidding.
6) I like my new job. (Working in a school library, yay!) In fact, I like it so much I will not even discuss it because I am worried it will jinx it somehow. I love the kids, I love the books, I love the calm and chaos and thrill of seeing a kid discover a new book, a new author, a new way to look at life. Work that is satisfying is the best thing ever. Enough! No jinxes.
7) Our cats are spring-fever crazy. The birdies had better just watch out.
8) We’re ready for summer to start. How many more days of school? “Sixty-something, or fifty-something,” according to my daughter. (Yay! The kids and I will be on the same schedule for work/school.) (Still not talking about work. Not really, anyway.)
9) My husband and I are the hugest Curb Your Enthusiasm fans now. Also, I love the Wire. I’m only on the first season, though, so no spoilers, eh? It’s intense, but the writing, acting and directing are so top-notch it pays off.
10) I have a stack of fifty books to review. And no time. Kinda funny, that a librarian has no time to read. Ha. (I have been reading a bunch of contemporary kids’ lit, though. I have no idea who many of the new authors are! Leave me suggestions, y’all, in comments. Especially for titles for ages fourth grade and up.)
11) Would you like to hear the story of Super Granny? She is my daughter’s invention. She was born in 1708. That makes her THREE HUNDRED! Her best friend used to be named Little Guy Who Loves Cheese. Now her name (I know, Little Guy, you’d think “he,” but you would be wrong, dear reader) is Little Guy Who Loves Bananas. Cuz they moved to the jungle. Maybe we’ll tell you more next week…
12) Oh. You want more now? OK — Her favorite song is “Yankee Doodle.” And her favorite food is roasted pig.
13) I missed my Thursday Thirteens! Sorry I’ve been out of the loop.
Love,
WM
I was going to write this post two weeks ago, but I got distracted by someone’s smut talk. That’s right. It was her. No, I cannot find the exact post I’m referring to, because I cannot figure out her archives is why. (Blame it on Mac blogs.) Anywho, lots of sex talk, smut talk, shoe talk, California talk over there. Don’t go all crazy.
Thirteeners and Usual Suspects, I am back. And this week, I will make a stunning and daring attempt to visit 50 — yes, fifty — Thursday Thirteen blog posts after I am done here. Wish me luck, because you know how it challenges me when I try to “concentrate” on something for more than 20 minutes at a shot.
Hmmm. Why is this so? I have no idea. All I know is that both Mallory and Rockstar Mommy have given up blogging and I am not so happy about that. It leaves me less than inspired about my own blogging! They inspired me! I am not giving you links to them because what would be the point?
To quote Lewis Grizzard: “Elvis is dead and I don’t feel so good myself.”
Without further kvetching, I present…
Thirteen Fun Facts About Fannie Farmer and Frances Farmer:
1) They are not the same person. They are entirely different chicks.
2) Fannie was a Unitarian, thus my Sunday School lesson on her a couple of weeks back.
3) Throughout the class, I was nervous that I was going to say “Frances” when I meant “Fannie.” Frances was accused of being both an atheist and a Communist. Hmm.
4) Perhaps I should have worked this quote into my lesson? “It was pretty sad, because [after the publication of God Dies] for the first time I found how stupid people could be. It sort of made me feel alone in the world. The more people pointed at me in scorn the more stubborn I got and when they began calling me the Bad Girl of West Seattle High, I tried to live up to it.”
5) Sadly, I did not share that quote with the children. Instead, we made muffin mix:
Mae’s Muffins
Adapted from a recipe by Fannie Farmer, the “Mother of Level Measurements.”
1 cup milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
2 cups all-purpose flour or whole wheat flour (or 1 cup of each)
1/3 cup sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
Heat oven to 400°. Grease bottoms only of 12 medium muffin cups, 2 1/2 X 1 1/4 inches, or line with paper baking cups. Beat milk, oil, vanilla and egg. Stir in flour, sugar, baking powder and salt mixture all at once just until flour is moistened (batter will be lumpy).
Possible add-ins: 1 cup fresh or drained canned blueberries or 3/4 cup frozen blueberries, thawed and well-drained; chocolate chips or nuts; shredded or chopped apples.
Divide batter evenly among muffin cups. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Immediately remove from pan.
We measured the dry ingredients only into gallon zip-lock bags. The kids thought this was excellent. We accidentally added a half-teaspoon of extra salt into the mix we brought home. No matter! We added shredded, unsweetened coconut for our “add-in,” along with some extra sugar, and it turned out great! We made a pan of it, due to the fact that I couldn’t find our muffin tin. It baked at 350 degrees (then 325 degrees, for the last 20 minutes) for about an hour total. Dee-licious.
6) Fannie Farmer worked as a “mother’s helper” for Little Marcia Shaw (this is how she is named in my book) and taught her to cook! Then she wrote down the recipes for her, and that eventually became the “Boston Cooking School Cook Book.”
7) She taught at the school for many, many years.
8) How many? I have no idea!
9) She also wrote a book called “Food and Cookery for the Sick and Convalescent.” She considered this her most important book. When I am sick, all I want is Pad Thai with shrimps and Tom Kha Gai soup. I am seriously doubting that her Food and Cookery book contains these recipes, so I have no plans for purchasing it. I am sorry, Fannie. Also I have no plans for actually cooking Tom Kha or Pad Thai, cuz we have a number of excellent Thai restaurants in my neighborhood where we can go for take-out.
10) Hmm. More on Frances? She supposedly never had a lobotomy, according to Wikipedia. And Wikipedia, as you know, is next to God. Just ask Michael Scott.
“Western State Hospital recorded all the lobotomies performed during Farmer’s period there. Since lobotomies were considered ground-breaking medical procedure, the hospital did not attempt to conceal its work. Although nearly 300 patients received the procedure, no evidence supports a claim that Farmer was among them.”
Newspaper interviews: In 1983 Seattle newspapers interviewed former hospital staff members, including all the lobotomy ward nurses who were on duty during Farmer’s years at Western State. They confirmed that Farmer did not receive a lobotomy. Nurse Beverly Tibbetts stated, “I worked on all the patients who had lobotomies, and Frances Farmer never came to that ward.” Freeman’s private patient records contained no references to Farmer. Dr. Charles Jones, Psychiatric Resident at Western State during Farmer’s stays, also stated that Farmer was never given a lobotomy.”
11) Fannie? She taught people to measure “exactly” and is known as the “Mother of Modern Measurements.” She and my granny would not get along one bit because my granny does not measure anything. Ever. She uses a measuring cup to dip in the flour, but only if she doesn’t have a coffee cup handy. I have followed in her footsteps, I am happy to say.
12) Frances Farmer’s films include: “Come and Get It,” “The Toast of New York” and “South of Pago Pago.”
13) If I had to choose between dinner with Fannie Farmer and Frances Farmer, I think I’d go for Frances. We could get Thai take-out and discuss our medical histories, amongst other things.
Happy Thursday, y’all!
Dear, long-lost Thursday 13ers and All You Usual Suspects,
How the heck are you, friends? I’ve been… everywhere, man.
Oh, wait. Winter’s almost over, it’s almost spring. Whatever, it works for me. What does all of this have to do with Disneyland? Nothing. It’s just — we haven’t talked in awhile. I wanted to catch up. Here’s your list:
13 Things I Must Say Blow Me Away About Disneyland
1) They don’t perform weddings anymore next to the castle. How magical is that? Not very. (My friends C & K got married there — so romantic.)
2) The Electrical Parade rocks just as hard as everyone said it would.
3) My kids love it. Love it for 12 hours straight and want to go back the next day for more love it. They’re kinda cynical, for an 8- and 5-year-old (geesh), but not once did I hear “This is boring.”
4) The Tiki Room? Always a hit with me. I don’t care how dusty those birds are, or how hokey it is. If I could have the Tiki Room attached to my house I would be in seventh heaven. Tiki Heaven. Especially with a Pineapple Whip in hand.
5) Large asses. I have never seen so many large asses in my life. We have photos to prove it. (Like we need to. Ha.) “The Asses of Disneyland: A Series.”
6) Pirates of the Caribbean: Betta than evah.
7) Vodka in frozen lemonade? Well, you can have it if you remember to sneak in a flask.
8) Line for Mickey: Way Too Long. Line for Goofy? Not long at all! But he went on break right as Wacky Girl got to the front of the line. Damn dog. “But he shook my hand, it’s OK! Just didn’t sign my book!” All is forgiven, Goofy.
9) Speaking of Toon Town — my daughter went ga-ga for Toon Town — we had to go back twice. I didn’t expect that.
10) Jungle Cruise: Closed for repairs. It’s A Small World: Also closed for repairs. The looks on everyone’s faces: Priceless. (Those are my two favorite rides, though, so I was a little bummed.)
11) Admission? Let’s not discuss that. Instead let’s talk about Downtown Disney…
12) Build-A-Bear: Yes! Build two!
13) Beignets and cafe au lait at the New Orleans place — always a hit.
More on the trip later… Happy Thursday.
Love,
WM
THIRTEENERS!!!! I just wanted to say “hey.” Hey. How you doin’? USUAL SUSPECTS!!!! Hello, and noooooooo you are not forgotten. I am, however, forgetting about this week’s Thursday Thirteen because… why shouldn’t I?
13. Ash in Wonderland (and her boobs) wrote a freakin’ great post for me and I am still enjoying it. And her boobs. Plus, it immediately started a fight! Excellent work, Ash-girl. I kinda enjoy blog-fighting. Except the subject was serious, so I shouldn’t be being flip. They both care, that’s why it got hot for a minute. Ash, thanks for everything. Mia, thank you to you and your co-workers for the extremely hard and thankless work you do. Peace and I’m lighting candles for the kids, right now. (more…)
Dear Thursday 13ers and Usual Suspects,
Here is a weather update from Portland, Oregon, where it rains most of the time. People somehow cannot deal, in spite of the fact that it always rains. Well, except for (sometimes) part of July, (usually) most of August and (often) into September. And (once in awhile) we get October. The first two weeks in October, at least. Then back to Your Rain Channel.
New Yorkers: “It rains just as much in New York, inch-wise. It’s just all at once.”
me: “I do not think so.”
The weather! It is baffling!
This, in spite of the fact that Oregon, She is Constant. She is Constantly Raining. Except in the desert, where it is drought, and the people, they are all, “Again with the drought? Why does God hate us? We could use some of your Portland rain.” Etc.
Portlanders, they start to think, starting around now (end of January) maybe the rain will let up? Maybe? So our conversations go like this…
1. You think it’s going to keep raining?
2. Wow, it’s raining really hard!
3. It’s not raining that bad.
4. Did the weathermen say snow? Do you think it will really snow? I mean, a lot?
5. Do you think they’ll close the schools?
6. Do you think we’ll get a snow day?
7. Do you think it will be freezing rain, instead of snow?
8. I hate the freezing rain, don’t you? It’s so scary! How the roads get all icy? It’s hard to drive in.
9. It’d be nice to get some sun.
10. Maybe over spring break?
11. Geez, people here really don’t know how to drive in the weather.
12. I mean, I can handle it. But other people really do not know how to drive in the weather.
13. It didn’t rain that much today.
Dear, dear neglected Thursday Thirteeners and All You Usual Suspects,
What’s going on? Should I dare to try to write a Thursday 13 list, even though I don’t have a brain in my head? (Long month. New job. Much going on with piano lessons, Girl Scouts, swimming and etc. Plus it’s cold. I am shivering. Too many excuses, sorry.) I say yes.
Thirteen Things I Have Used as Security Blankets Over the Years: (more…)