it rained IN the car today. i didn’t even think i was taking a risk– it was overcast, but not ominous, and no rain was predicted today.
it was a short but very fierce blast of rain. i had to pull over on the interstate to put up the top. tried to ride it out– it started out as a heavy sprinkle– but i couldn’t make it.
of course, once i arrived in durham it appeared to be dry as a bone here. i wish it would actually rain dammit!
another evening’s work done. found lots of body filler on the sliding door, so most of my work was with the Big Guns, the belt sander and wire brush, which are more physically taxing to use. i ran out of steam after just over an hour.
bq. “Captain, we are being probed.”
i’ve been watching a lot of star trek: the next generation re-runs lately. it’s somehow comforting and satisfying at the same time.
this morning, my hands smelled like metal. it occured to me that despite having showered twice and washed my hands numerous times and washed dishes since i was last covered in the powdered exterior of my van, there might be some lingering metallic particles in my skin.
the scent faded through the day but even so tonight i was inspired to mix up a batch of lotion scented with Midway, a perfume oil that smells like funnel cake.
CAAAAKE!
i took a break from westy sanding tonight, mainly because my evening schedule was pushed back very late due to stuff out of my control, plus the fact that i decided to cook a large, proper dinner, and that took a long time.
for those interested, i grilled a steak and made a spinach casserole; for starters i picked bitter greens from my garden and dressed them with dressing i made with buttermilk, sour cream, garlic powder, sea salt, pepper, and basil.
i observed today that my tolerance for heat and humidity is greatly increased when it’s overcast or dark outside. _i fucking hate the sun._
the entire weekend was overcast, and spent in excellent company, so was therefore lovely.
on saturday, we canned tomatoes. theoretically, i know how to can now, although i’d need to consult a reference to figure out the amount of time and pounds of pressure needed for my elevation and for whatever i would be canning.
the coolest part was that the stuff inside the jars kept boiling for a long time after we took them out of the canner.
on sunday we went to lowes and while wandering through the appliance section it suddenly occured to me that i think i have a way to include a dishwasher in my kitchen without a renovation. after having lived my entire adult life without a dishwasher, i can tell you that this is pretty damned exciting.
later “we”:http://www.flickr.com/photos/spacegrrl/197669811/ went for a long walk along the sea wall at ft. monroe.
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i have set for myself an ambitious task: to work on “the westy”:http://www.flickr.com/photos/spacegrrl/sets/1673873/ every night this week. it’s good to have focus.
these things happened today in my town:
a marching band composed of local rock musicians performed a pauline oliveros composition (among other things) while marching around downtown durham.
the guy who has been protesting in front of Large Southern Software Company (with whom i may or may not be affiliated) finally “got some media coverage.”:http://www.newsobserver.com/104/story/462742.html
i could swear there was something else. oh well.
i was already pretty enamored of “Hustle,”:http://www.bbc.co.uk/drama/hustle/ but this week’s episode went right over the edge: they worked a full-scale bollywood dance number into it, and used it to further the plot.
oh yeah.
summer camp. did you go? what kind? did you like it?
i ran across some summer camp photos on flickr and had a sudden memory of the family-style meals they served at camp mary atkinson. i remember them being not bad and sort of comforting– big bowls of mashed potatoes and green beans, big platters of roast beef or whatever.
i have, of course, other memories of camp besides food– shampooing my hair outside, the time one of my cabin-mates barfed in her bed during the night, causing the cabin to smell weird the next morning. oddly, the smell of the lysol they used to clean up didn’t smell much different.
plus of course, “snipe hunts” through the woods, and dim memories of archery classes. oh, and how they’d inject our ears with rubbing alchohol after swimming in the lake. i learned how to tip a canoe over by standing on the edges and rocking it. i can’t believe they let us do that.
later i went to horseback riding camp, then young writers’ camp. i was a lucky kid. maybe that’s why i have no problem asking to be sent to conferences for work.
anyway. tell me about _your_ camp.
today i drove out to downtown raleigh to visit father & son antiques, which now has little in the way of furniture and has trended toward being a hipster vintage clothes store. (of course– is there any other kind?)
after ten minutes of being lost in the construction zone that is our state’s capitol (despite having directions from father and son to my next destination) i successfully pointed the spacepod toward pittsboro, nc, home of beggars and choosers. i blew past the raleigh flea market because i was concerned that if i stopped i wouldn’t make it to b&c before closing time.
as it turns out, there was no way i could make it before closing time… because they’re closed all fucking summer, dammit. i hit a couple of other places in pittsboro but their antique stores are too high-end for me, and besides a seven-foot-high french antique armoire probably wouldn’t, you know, _work_ in my circa 1946 bedroom.
i did some searching on ebay this morning, and nothing seemed to be catching my eye but i’ll keep looking there.
this was all brought about by the sudden (though a long time in coming) realization that i’m tired of my bedroom furniture being almost entirely semi-decrepit yard sale crap that is completely mismatched and doesn’t compliment the gorgeous color i painted the room over a year ago.
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last night i ate at city beverage for the first time. it’s a cute little place, with apparent pretentions of being a tiki bar, though we didn’t entirely realize that until we were seated (after a very long wait at the bar) and they handed us a huge menu of tiki drinks along with the dinner menu.
the food was ok, but we all found our dishes to be overly flavorful. i can’t remember ever hearing that criticism of food before, but there you have it. in addition, my dish was over-salted.
afterwards, s. and i met “xta”:http://singintomymouth.com/blog/ for a trashy girl movie featuring meryl streep channelling cruella deville (or at least her hair), which was actually quite enjoyable.
in fact, meryl streep’s hair was almost a separate _character_ in the movie. somehow, her hair spoke volumes.
so, it appears that i’ll be spending five days in NYC in august. the weather notwithstanding, i’m looking forward to my first visit to the city in probably ten years.
so, i’m not really up to date on fun things to do in the city (although i do have a few things in mind)… perhaps those of you who live there or have visited recently could make some suggestions!
i think we’ve already found a good, cheap place to stay.
“yep.”:http://www.newsobserver.com/724/story/459715.html
hey, guess what division we were recently moved out of? that would be Marketing. once again, the axe breezes by but misses.
i really can’t describe the feeling of having worked at the most stable employer in town for seventeen years and then to be present the year they finally decide to start firing people.