I thought I was going to need to clean today because DS & DIL1 were coming over for supper tomorrow evening (so they could give me my birthday gift, not that that's the only reason I want to see them, no) but DIL1 has to work tomorrow evening, Thursday evening too. That also means Durwood doesn't have to (get to) make Chicken Tikka Masala, a recipe in the Penzey's catalog that came while we were out West. I love Chicken Tikka Masala; he needs to make it for me. It's got curry (we like curry, Penzey's Sweet Curry Powder has an excellent flavor but no heat) but not too much so it has a lovely flavor and it doesn't light you on fire when you eat it. I like a little spicy and a little hot, Durwood likes a little spicy and NO hot, garlic is a digestion issue for him too these days, not so much for me--yet. (hm, I bet that's more info than you want, huh? sorry) Now I'm going to clean the house (a little) because it crunches when you walk across the kitchen floor and the bathroom just gets it once a week or so and it's time. I want to clear some of the blizzard of papers off the table so that there's more than just room for our two plates on there (gotta encourage Durwood to work on his 2/3 of the problem, nagging doesn't work with him; I have an idea though--we've got some small, TV-tray sized tables, I want to see if I can encourage him to only pile up as much stuff as fits on there instead of filling up half the table and one of the chair seats... we'll see how that goes). I also need to deal with the travel book and maps and brochures we accumulated on our trip and get them put away somewhere. Some will get tossed but much of it needs keeping, at least for a while. I need to go get my nails done sometime today, probably this morning, see if I can't get my paycheck today so I can cash it, etc., and then, AND THEN my boon companion, Lala, is coming to town to be here for a work conference thingy tomorrow but tonight TONIGHT I get to go pick up a pizza, and take it and my vacation photos over to her hotel, and we'll sit in her room eating pizza, looking at my vacation pix, and gabbing until we're drunk with cheese, sauce, the Wild West, and each other. Yay. (excuse me while I stand up and dance... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... okay I'm back, sorry, I had to dance a lot more than normal, I'm looking forward to it that much) She's not coming to The Clearing this year so I won't be getting to spend a week with her like I usually do, one night's not the same, of course, but it's like a maintenance dose of Lala to keep me on balance, just skittering on the edge of sanity, for a little while. It'll have to do, won't it? Do you have a far-away friend like that? Someone you don't get to see often enough so that when you do it's an event? I hope you do, it makes life a bit more fun. Anticipation is an excellent brightener to an otherwise ho-hum day. I mean really, who gets excited about swabbing a kitchen floor and scrubbing a bathroom? A person needs something to look forward to--besides getting to spend next week in a serene, welcoming, known for great food place in the Wisconsin woods, getting to room with an old pal you haven't seen in years, and focus on writing for the entire week, that is. Okay, I agree, my life doesn't suck, not one little bit. Except that I can't manage to control my eating/snacking so that the scale inches down instead of vaulting up. Yeah, we're not going there since some of us will be munching on pizza and garlic bread for supper tonight. Yeah, not going there. I'll "diet" later. Ya know what frosts my cookies? I feel great. I feel trim. I have the energy I wished I had at 40. Then I look in the mirror and I'm short and fat and and and not trim. I gotta tell ya, it's a real buzz kill. I loved being in Yellowstone, hopping out of the van, and striding off down a path or stairs to see a river rapids or geyser basin. I'd be a little out of breath from being at 8000 ft. above sea level (they're stingy with the oxygen up there) or from climbing up a hill, but I felt great. Great. I felt strong and fit and then I'd see myself in the side of the van or some other vaguely relfective surface and there I'd be, my old blobby self. I hate that. Why can't I look like I feel? Why is it so hard for me to chisel off this flab? Gah. Maybe I'll just need to quit looking at myself and focus on how I feel. Okay, time to quit being Debbie Downer and get on with my day. Smile, Barbara, smile and go mop the kitchen floor, you'll feel better.
September 4 --Egypt, Roman Period, Figure of Isis-Aphrodite. It was hard to stand still as long as the art professors wanted her to. She didn't mind standing naked in front of them all. She knew they didn't really see her as a person, they saw her as a collection of shapes and shadows, they saw her muscles and bones. She had seen some of them in the union and greeted them. They'd looked at her blankly and she'd been too embarrassed to remind them where they'd seen her. That was when she had lost the last of her shyness as a figure model. She could stand or sit up there in the pose that the professor put her in and know that maybe one in ten of them ever looked at her face.
I meant to have that one of them actually see her and be a nascent serial killer, or something like that, but I was too tired. You fill that in for yourself. Today's Photo a Day theme is "in my mailbox/postbox" so I snapped the birthday cards that came in the mail. I love each and every one, so far. I suspect that more might be on the way, I know for sure that DS & DIL1 have one for me... Happy Tuesday, you all.
--Barbara Sue
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