“What lies behind us, and what lies beyond us, are small matters compared to what lies within us.”

— anonymous

Not reviewing, but reading:

Listening to:
X, Brooks & Dunn, Amy Winehouse, more X, Tom Petty, classical, jazz, Steve Winwood (Spencer Davis Group), Joe Cocker, anything to make me feel better.

Watching:
We Own the Night, more Wire (season 2 still), Picnic at Hanging Rock, The Player, Bob Roberts, Michael Clayton, General Hospital, Dancing with the Stars, baby!

For dinner we had:
Homemade pizza people, with cheese for hair and olives for eyes, noses and mouths; fresh, organic asparagus roasted with a little olive oil, salt and pepper. Chocolate brownie cake for dessert.

I’m looking at:
My kids playing, my husband’s smile, our cats playing, the flowers blooming outside.

Wanting:
To feel all better.

All of those new, pretty Flickr pix over there on the sidebar are courtesy of my snap-happy daughter and her father. We have… Disneyland (from February? Didn’t I already post those?). More flower photos. The Pearl District. And I think that’s it?

Happy Sunday, y’all. I’m feeling okay. Thanks for the nice notes and e-mails. Off to watch Desperate Housewives and Brothers & Sisters. Guilty, guilty pleasures — they make life so complete!

love,

wm

Do you love Yvonne even half as much as I do? No, I don’t think you do, because I love her THIS MUCH. Her obsession with bean dip and Rick Springfield (not in that order. I don’t think, anyway), her funny hubs and kids, especially her charming little kick-ass daughter. She is so damn sexy — all the time I’m thinking, honey. You are gorgeous! Go look in the mirror! Also, she takes superb photos. She needs a little lovin’ right now and frankly, so do I.

Plus we are Thyroid Sisters. And now, being older, I can one-up her: I have Other Troubles. (Is that vague enough? I’m sorry, but I cannot be specific. You can e me if you want all the grim details.)

She sez:

Dear You,

Me

I’m asking you — do the same for me, would you? Because I’m so sick and tired of being sick and tired.

wm

internets, i would like to blog, but i still feel like hell. Also, why did I work today? Zip said, It will be too much. Steve said, It will be too much. They were right. Again.

Finally watched Juno, it was good. And started in on Season Two of the Wire, which, when you’re coming out of anesthetic, is just not so much fun to watch. Dead bodies and all. The new episode of the Office last night made me sad. I love the Office — do not make me sad, Office. You are there to entertain, got it?

I can’t concentrate on books — the words go all swimmy together.

Maybe it’s the anesthetic talking, I’ve got no idea.

Off to change back into p.j.’s. Leave me notes if you want, I’ll check in later.

yours,

wm

…in case you were wondering.

She appreciates all your good thoughts, and is sleeping off the anesthesia as I write this. I’m sure she’ll be blogging on the morrow.

* health problems. third verse, same as the first. I am ready for some resolution and no more feeling like hell.

* power struggles. why? Why why why? They are so stupid. I’m getting better at sidestepping, but it’s always a challenge.

* end of the school year. so much left to accomplish.

* the weather.

* the allergies.

* my kids who are such night owls that it can be 9, 10, 11 or midnight, and they will be awake.

* exhaustion (see, above: vampire children who refuse to sleep)

* the clutter. on my desk, the end tables, the dining room table, my desk(s) at work (I have three. Neat, huh? Means I can mess up three separate areas.)

* school politics: always a challenge

* Girl Scouts. We love Girl Scouts, but life keeps conspiring against it.

* my inconstancy

* my mood swings

* my ex’s mom passed away, and I feel so bad for him and his family. I loved his family — they are amazing. But when it’s an ex, you can’t exactly show up to comfort, can you? Maybe I can drop some food off? Or send a fruit basket? Advice, internets? (This is someone I ended on very good terms with — we just don’t see each other because. you know. I’m married. He’s not.)

* i think that’s it. Send good thoughts my way tomorrow — i have to have a minor surgery and am nervous.

xxox

wm

We received a copy of “Lost in the Woods: A Photographic Fantasy,” at a book swap recently. (I like this trend for birthday parties — spares the parents of the birthday child from having to create yet another imaginative goody bag. Gimme books, anyday.) This charming picture book, by wife and husband team Carl R. Sams II & Jean Stoick ($19.95) is a winner — you will fall in love with the baby fawn and the cast of woodland creatures.

“Shhh…
shhh,”
hushed the mouse.
“I think he’s lost.
Just let him sleep.”

Will his mother return? I think she will.

Do you all know Barbara Park? Of Junie B. Jones fame? Her latest, a picture book, takes you along on the adventures (or lack thereof) of a growing, mouthy, in-utero bebe. “MA! There’s Nothing to Do Here! A Word from Your Baby-in-Waiting,” is illustrated by Viviana Garofoli ($15.99, Random House). Cute book — sassy and imaginative, and the drawings are funny and colorful.

“I’m all in a heap here. My feet are asleep here. I’m flat out of space. I’ve got knees in my face…”

And… the Look-Alike books. We cannot get enough of these books, especially the youngest of our tribe. Thank you, Joan Steiner, for “Look-Alikes Around the World: An Album of Amazing Postcards” ($15.99, Little, Brown and Company).

“Mama, it looks like a hot-air balloon, wight? Wight? It’s not. It’s a lightbulb.” (Or a cooky, or a handful of dice. Or pencils, all in a row.) Next thing you know, you think you’re looking at the Arc de Triomphe, or Big Ben, a French chateau or “Nessie,” the Loch Ness monster. My favorite favorite absolute favorite thing about these books is trying to guess what all the pieces are made of, then looking at the key in the back. Hours of entertainment.

Happy reading!

The Internet sometimes has no sense of humor. Luckily, I do.

Want to knit this?

(For real, the comments section over there went insane.)

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…

Joshua Giraffe, Joshua, Joshua
Joshua Giraffe, Joshua, Joshua
(woo hoo!)

— Raffi