She butters the top of the omelet. That’s right. To make it shiny. I love Julia Child.

Went for sushi, then saw the film “Julie & Julia” today (I know, I know, sushi is not French, yet it is tasty). Fun movie, I liked it. Streep and Stanley Tucci were wonderful, of course. I don’t think Nora Ephron has ever made a movie or a book I didn’t like. (My favorites, in no particular order: “Crazy Salad,” “Silkwood,” “I Feel Bad About My Neck: And Other Thoughts on Being a Woman” and “When Harry Met Sally…”)

The reviews all say something along the lines of, Oh, Meryl’s wonderful but eh, they could have done without Julie’s character. A blogger who is peevish, looking for inspiration with her cooking, and doesn’t always agree with her husband? Yeah, I can’t relate to that at all. hahahaha. I liked both plot lines — thought they were woven together well. I read the Julie/Julia Project sometimes when Julie Powell was writing it. Was glad she got a book deal. Was not so glad to hear that her second book details the affair she had after the first book was published. Eh, it’s not my life. But if you want to sleep with someone other than your husband? Don’t be married.

It’s our anniversary this weekend — can’t say what I’m giving Steve for a present, cuz it’s a surprise. But I think he’ll like it. My sister, the bride-to-be, informs me that eleventh anniversary is steel and jewelry. I’ll get myself some drill bits and get him some jewelry. Good? I won’t be getting myself a boyfriend for a gift, that’s for sure. What kind of lousy present is that? Also, nothing from here. Aroooooo… That’s what I’d really like to give him for an anniversary present — two wiener dogs. The bad thing about wiener dogs: Sometimes they get too nippy. Also they go “pee-pee” a lot. The good thing about wiener dogs: You get to say the word “wiener” all the time and make a lot of “wiener” jokes. That’s kinda fun.

Perhaps Steve wouldn’t like a doggy. Perhaps he would like a goose? Not that kind, the feathered kind. Sure he would! Happy anniversary, Steve. Eleven big years and I love you more every day.

“Never thought about divorce. Thought about murder plenty, but not divorce.” — my late, dear Granny, on the secret to her and my Grandpa’s marital success.

Why didn’t she remarry? “I had the best, honey. Why mess with the rest?”

True, that. Steve, I love you. Thanks for always loving me back.

Hmm. I like pets. I just don’t like their owners, sometimes. That’s all.

(Happy birthday to Wacky Cousin 3.0, we love you, kid. Hope you get to eat as many cupcakes as you want. And a big ol’ happy birthday to my little girl. If I had it my way, sweets, I’d get you three border collies. Happy birthday!!!!!!!!!! Hugs and love and kisses.)

“I struggle with enormous discrepancies: between the reality of motherhood and the image of it, between my love for my home and the need to travel, between the varied and seductive paths of the heart. The lessons of impermanence, the occasional despair and the muse, so tenuously moored, all visit their needs upon me and I dig deeply for the spiritual utilities that restore me: my love for the place, for the one man left, for my children and friends and the great green pulse of spring.” – photographer Sally Mann – “Still Time” catalogue

(Got this off Facebook, my new muse… wm)

“What can they do
to you? Whatever they want.
They can set you up, they can
bust you, they can break
your fingers, they can
burn your brain with electricity,
blur you with drugs till you
can’t walk, can’t remember, they can
take your child, wall up
your lover. They can do anything
you can’t stop them
from doing. How can you stop
them? Alone, you can fight,
you can refuse, you can
take what revenge you can
but they roll over you.

From “The Moon is Always Female”, published by
Alfred A. Knopf, Copyright 1980 by Marge Piercy

To be a mountain you have to climb alone
and accept all that rain and snow. You have to look far away when evening comes. If a forest
grows, you care; you stand there leaning against
the wind, waiting for someone with faith enough
to ask you to move. Great stones will tumble
against each other and gouge your sides. A storm
will live somewhere in your canyons hoarding its lightning.

William Stafford

Ego Tripping (there may be a reason why)

“I was born in the congo
I walked to the fertile crescent and built
the sphinx
I designed a pyramid so tough that a star
that only glows every one hundred years falls
into the center giving divine perfect light
I am bad

I sat on the throne
drinking nectar with allah
I got hot and sent an ice age to europe
to cool my thirst
My oldest daughter is nefertiti
the tears from my birth pains
created the nile
I am a beautiful woman

I gazed on the forest and burned
out the sahara desert
with a packet of goat’s meat
and a change of clothes
I crossed it in two hours
I am a gazelle so swift
so swift you can’t catch me

For a birthday present when he was three
I gave my son hannibal an elephant
He gave me rome for mother’s day
My strength flows ever on

My son noah built new/ark and
I stood proudly at the helm
as we sailed on a soft summer day
I turned myself into myself and was
jesus
men intone my loving name
All praises All praises
I am the one who would save

I sowed diamonds in my back yard
My bowels deliver uranium
the filings from my fingernails are
semi-precious jewels
On a trip north
I caught a cold and blew
My nose giving oil to the arab world
I am so hip even my errors are correct
I sailed west to reach east and had to round off
the earth as I went
The hair from my head thinned and gold was laid
across three continents

I am so perfect so divine so ethereal so surreal
I cannot be comprehended except by my permission

I mean…I…can fly
like a bird in the sky…”

— Nikki Giovanni (1973)

“Triolet on a Line Apocryphally Attributed to Martin Luther”

— A.E. Stallings

…on the Today Show.

(PS — her book tour stops at Powell’s in Portland, Ore. on March 30th.) (Yay.)

A Peek Inside the Fishbowl

Shim and Sons

Mommy Track’d

Literary Mama

Ma Petite Chouchou, Laetitia

2+2=INSANITY!

…obstreperous

PRONUNCIATION:
(ob-STREP-uhr-uhs)

MEANING:
adjective: Noisy or unruly.

ETYMOLOGY:
From Latin obstreperus (clamorous), from ob- (against) + strepere (to make a noise).

(Thank you, Anu.)

(When we picked up our girl from Grandma’s today — or “Bama Hut,” as my kids call it, a leftover baby nickname for Grandma’s House — she told us, “I wrote a story. It’s 27 pages long!” Yes, it was. In a point size of 72. Good story from a cool 9-year-old. Enjoy. Have a great week. WM)

A lot of things

By Wacky Girl

Wacky Girl is my name. What is your name? Do you know how I got my name? Well how did you get yours, now answerer that? I named myself when I was two years old. Okay? Okay.

Lets move on to a different subject. How about shoes. Do you like shoes/feet? I do! They help me get warm. I think you should like shoes/feet if you don’t already. Feet are good for you because how would you stand up and/or get around? And you should like shoes to because they keep your feet warm and if you didn’t have shoes then your feet might get so cold your feet might fall off and we already talked about how wonderful feet are and everyone has them. (I hope.) So lets move on.

How about we talk about worms. Do you even like worms? Because if you don’t then I’m here to make you LOVE them. So lets get started then.

Ways to make worms man’s best friend

1. Go out in your yard or some place with dirt and start digging. Feel the soft dirt and/or worms in your hands. You are holding part of earth. (If the dirt isn’t soft then you’re on your own.) Doesn’t that feel good? Well if there weren’t such a thing as worms then that dirt would be all chunky. (If it is chunky then that’s just to bad for you.)

2. Okay I am guessing this subject isn’t so good for the young ones so lets talk (well in our case read) about something else. Uhh any ideas? Yes, no? Well this whole writing thing is sort of out of control and I am wasting some good time, so I guess this is…

THE END!!!

(Sorry I can’t make the type size any bigger for a more dramatic THE END, but it’s already at 72.)