sidenote...

did anyone watch the today show today?? o man... usually they do pretty well on their costumes, matt, al, ann... and now meredith... but i was NOT impressed today. not one bit. matt and al weren't that horrible... but ann and meredith, c'mon.

hahahalloween........

when you were little did you partake in halloween celebrations? i did. i loved it. it was so fun to think that millions of other little kids were all playing dress up on the same day. and free candy.

i remember always having to wear a coat underneath my costume. this made me so mad. especially the year i was a mouse, and wore a grey leotard. i looked like a lumpy mouse with the coat underneath. i remember when we would get home, my brother and i would pour all of our booty into the big silver mixing bowl. we would scoop a bunch of it up with our hands and let it fall back into the bowl, cackling.

when i was little i never thought of halloween as the "devil's holiday" or "druid worship day." it was just fun. but now, as an adult, i am faced with the question, do i allow my children to participate in this day? what do you all think?

(and by the way, do you think superman would ever dress up as a squirrel?? clark kent, dressed as superman, dressed as a squirrel... i suppose even superheroes like to celebrate holidays...)

we were visited

we saw jolie holland perform in champaign. we saw marie antoinette in an ancient movie theater [read: not cool]. had some coconut, chocolate chip pancakes. took a walk on a cool fall morning. i found a babysitter, finally. and darby got her nose pierced, finally. let it be known: we love visitors!

some people say you got a psychedelic presence, while others say you're meaner than a polecat

so on saturday, a few of us went to see jolie holland play at micks. it was strange, my friends. she began her show by saying, "sorry, everyone. i'm traumatized right now," and proceeded to traumatize everyone else too, i think. she started songs and then stopped them and stopped her band mates who were giving her looks like they thought she was a nut. she seemed angry. it was tense. and she seemed bored, too; fixing her eye makeup during "Mad Tom of Bedlam." at the time, i felt sort of forgiving, because she sounded so good. better than ever. but the more time goes by, the more mad i feel. that's her job, you know? and it felt like we were in the middle of a fight. mer. that's what i have to say. mer. conor oberst was two tables behind us and left early. oh jolie holland. why you gotta be like that? why?


ps. thanks, daphne, for the pictures.

chime in

what do you think about sleeping with socks on?

humor me, humor you

i've got this friend here in chatham. she's also annabelle's preschool teacher. yesterday she & her little girl came over for some lunch & talking. and then the old monkey suit was pulled from the closet. preschool professor j-bone marshall suited up & took to the sidewalk behind our house, which happens to be on a fairly busy road. she was waving & giving thumbs up. people were staring, honking, laughing. i have some video of it. you can see her walking around & hear violet and i cackling in the background.

ah, yesterday was a really hopeful day. hearty laughter, a sure antidote to life in a suburban town.

split pea heaven

friends: i made this recipe yesterday & it was amazing! it's so simple to prepare...and the best part: it's for the crocker.

i followed the recipe exactly, except adding more diced carrots & substituting onion powder for real onions. the pickiest eater in the house even loved it.

HEARTY SPLIT PEA SOUP

not the whole story, but...

daphne, the girls, & i met at einstein bagels for a mid-morning coffee and munchie. violet ate & ate & ate. then she started to show her true self, to which daphne replied, "that's mischievious!" we piled into the big rig. driving through the parking lot, something startled me: i slammed on the brakes, rolled daph's window down, & shouted "LOU!" it was lou karre, walking through schnuck's parking lot, talking on her cell phone. she looked back at us, sort of confused. so i tried to explain, "it's us! you know, daphne & caron!" daphne adds, "from omaha..." this is the third time i've run into lou at random in st. louis. i mean, it's a big city. so here's a little tribute to you, counselor.

saw this poem...

thought of you.

"Sometimes We Don't Talk Much, Debbie And I" by Greg Kosmicki, from _Some Hero of the Past_.

Sometimes We Don't Talk Much, Debbie And I

so today we take an afternoon drive to an orchard
buy two jars of dark honey, an acorn squash,
three cucumbers, six ears of corn, a gigantic muskmelon,
a sack of hot peppers for seventy-five cents, a half-dozen tomatoes,
a small basket each of Jonathans, McJonathans
and Akanes,
talk all the way there
through the corn-green countryside,
drive around
through small towns clustered
north of Omaha
like beautiful mushroom rings around an old stump,

and we talk about the living it takes

talk until
years fall down like rain,

and we drive our red car
through the green hills back to Omaha
where our children
nestle like mice

in an old grain bin,
and we bring back our box
filled with fresh fruits and vegetables
and we bring back ourselves,
filled with our lives.

lookie thar who i gotta see!

it was a dream! we went to h and m and pottery barn kids. we ate sandwiches in the park. we bought some signet rings and mood jewelry from a crazy guy in the park. not really. but i did get to see caron bare her teeth and growl like a mother bear! those litlte e-tots are pretty amazing. oh, you, too caron.

A new accessory.

Kyle and I saw David Sedaris* at the Orpheum last night. We came away with a great Christmas idea for everyone on our list!

*I got a sweet deal on the tickets by purchasing them on ebay. Really close to the stage for less than half price. Whoo-hoo!

WhoCares Breakfast!

Wed., Oct. 25
Cheryl's house
6:30 a.m.-whenever
I'll make a french toast casserole and brew the coffee. If anyone wants juice or fruit or what have you, feel free to bring something.

frugal, friends, frugal

just wanted to pass along a few interesting sites i've been looking at lately. the first is MotherLoad. this site if chock full of $$ saving ideas & fantastic tips for household care. friday's blog entry is called "freebie fridays". she lists lots of different links to visit to get free stuff in the mail. if you know me, i love free stuff & i love mail. another interesting link from that site is FlyLady.

and this is the site i've been happiest with: EBATES. signing up with this site, you are gaining access to the biggest sales & free shipping offers online. AND: you get cashback on your purchases. they don't sell your information or send you annoying emails. they have over 800 stores in partnership. this week i get 4% cash back on target.com purchases, free shipping, & 15% off the regular priced items. if you sign up, you get $5 in your account. no gimmick. it really works. CLICK HERE and register (caron.easley@gmail.com for your referral, please) with ebates today & check the savings. make christmas shopping a bit easier on you & your wallet/handbag/purse/pocket.

I'll make something good to eat.

Would anyone come if I hosted a WhoCares breakfast, say, next week? I miss y'all.

debbie downer

the other day i was being extra negative. we pulled into the parking lot of this restaurant & i said, "i bet they don't have enough high chairs." ja kind of laughed & said, "okay, debbie downer". so i took a debbie downer self-portrait.

Get LOST.

I'm into it. Are you?

Week 7

this was my 7th week of working. Part time. Couple nights a week. 2:30 to 10:30 or 11pm. Isaac stays with Naomi and her son Bobby from 2-6 those days until Nate can come pick-him up after he gets off from work. Isaac seems to think it is a play-date. He asks for Bobby the days we don't go. Naomi handed me this photo walking out the door yesterday. Seems like the transition is going pretty well for everyone. God is sure kind to give grace to those who ask.

I forgot to tell you this story...

I was attending a wedding a few weeks ago and was standing in the receiving line when I noticed that the man in front of me was wearing a leather racing jacket (a funny choice for a wedding itself) with an enormous embroidered Viagra logo on it. Humph. The Viagra logo. What an interesting bold move this man was making. I decided he was either a fan of a racing team sponsored by Viagra (is there such a team?) OR he had made a triumphant recovery from E.D. and wanted the world to know. If the latter, good for him! Shout it from the rooftops! Kyle and I had a good chuckle at his expense.

baked macaroni & cheese

generally i'm afraid of velveta. the first time i had it was at anne marie's house in the 7th or 8th grade. we made some chili con queso dip. that was tasty.

but the second time i had it was at my friend dayna's house. i was in charge of slicing the velveta. i opened the package & pulled the gelatinous blob out of the package, turned it over, and it was furry & moldy. i have a hard time recovering from mold incidences.

but last night i made baked macaroni from this cooking light recipe & it was great. fear not, the processed cheese!

Animals? That's it?

Most of the time, I try to hide the fact that I secretly love to get my little fill of 'entertainment news.' Today, I'm coming clean because I've noticed two quotes from two seperate articles that are sort of disturbing to me. Comments encouraged.

Scarlett Johansson: "I do think on some basic level we are animals, and by instinct we kind of breed accordingly. But as much as I believe that, I work really hard when I'm in a relationship to make it work in a monogamous way."

Sienna Miller: "I don't know, monogamy is a weird thing for me," Miller, who is still seeing Law, tells Rolling Stone in its new issue. "It's an overrated virtue, because, let's face it, we're f–ing animals."

Falling...

I posted a new song. It's a cover. I dedicate it, one more time, to you all.

shake it like you never done before

ah. i got up at 5:45 this morning to meet a friend at the gym. "be on the treadmill at 6:30" she said. i was treading at 6:28. she, on the other hand, rolled in at 7:20 with vague apologies. bollocks to her.

despite the inauspicious start, this is a good day. i've been looking forward to it for a long time. i'm settled down with a coffee, my itunes gift card (thanks andrew), and "hello love" playing in my ears. it's beautiful.

a strange kind of symmetry

i noticed something about our names on this here blog...we are all either a.s, d.s, or people with a c. or k., which sort of sound the same. ali, anne marie, alicia, caron, cheryl, corrie, kate, daphne, darby, darci. the mind reels! we're like a color wheel! we're the roy g. biv of blogs!

around town and at home

we have been pretty busy here at the E. house. two weekends ago we went to the husker/KU game, which was fun... but we got lost in lincoln. there isn't one I-80 sign in that town, i am sure of it. things have also been pretty crazy with the st. louis cardinals in the playoffs. FOX tv has been a major part of our lives this fall.
this last weekend, we took a break from the playoffs to go to the zoo. we had fun with those mangy goats that run wild in the dairy farm. we thought we saw caron there... it looked like her from behind, but when we got close, we realized it was a goat. note the pic above.
we have also been reading a lot of books. such as the tawny scrawny lion, and three billy goats gruff.
finn has outgrown his infant seat, so we shelled out the $80 for a convertible car seat that he will now fit safely in.
an actual fall activity that i have participated in is the PEDICURE. now you ask how that is a fall activity? all summer my feet are exposed to the elements... they have a tendency to become, well, disgusting. so on sunday i went to the nail place in the mall and took care of those nasty feet - though, they don't seem that much different... Boo.

there are great hopes to visit a pumpkin patch before halloween... any suggestions?

I grow old, i grow old, I shall wear the bottoms of my trousers rolled

today, just now, i found my first gray hair. i wish i had a digital camera. i would take a picture.

random

i was in target tonight. they are selling christmas stuff already.

question: of the out-of-Omaha-Whocares-members, who will be in Omaha this Christmas? (thinking a little whocares-christmas gathering might be enjoyable for all)...


p.s. Daphne, I just can't turn the achiever-strategy-individualization wiring of my brain off, even if I wanted to :-)

around our place

we haven't done any fun fall time things yet. but answering the call: vi & jason reading some books, jason & annabelle went to a cardinals game for a date last sunday; someone told an untruth & experienced the taste of the brown street inn soap. i am i the shadows, practicing breathing techniques & having lots of snacks.

download

download gillian welch's cover of "blackstar", originally recorded by radiohead. it's wonderful. on itunes or her website.

defrazzle

listening to moonlight sonata on repeat.
kid 1 is at preschool.
kid 2 is sleeping.
the kitchen needs help.
the family room needs help.
i need time contemplating truths.
eating bacon, egg, cheese biscuit.
it is good.
i pray for more patience.
more peace. more joy. more faith.
more love for god.

the women's group at church is studying "victoriously frazzled", a study for those who are stressed & want to rely more on god. the writers use language like "you go girl" and "cmon sister-girl"! my "defrazzler" for this week: PAMPER MYSELF! so, going along with my assignment, i bought a breakfast biscuit from mcdonald's, scrapped the grocery store visit, and am on a mission to defrazzle.

We came, we saw, we picked some apples.

The Dyers hit Nebraska city on Sunday, thanks to AnneMarie's recommendation. We had a lot of fun doing the orchard tour and picking our own apples. Tonight I just finished making two apple pies with our booty. The kind with the crumbly topping. Love that crumbly topping.

Post any fun fall activites that you've been up to here. I'd like to know!

play(wright)doh

this one goes out to..

"falling off the face of the earth" by neil young.
i dedicate that song today.

give the maid the night off!

i'm sitting at the kitchen table, looking around the room and considering the mess. i usually do a lot of chores on the weekend, but this weekend i elected to curb the cleaning impulse and do nothing. kind of hard, kind of easy. okay, it was really easy. i slept a lot and read a lot. (dorothy sayers' book "the nine tailors." october's a good month for a mystery novel.)

and now, it's monday. i don't have to work for a while (my job is seasonal and is off-season at the moment) and let me tell you, the apartment is in a sad, sad way. sigh. what to do. this place is getting me down. out for coffee, i guess...


oh, by the way. darci, i just heard on npr that sting turns 55 today.

Honey Nut Cheerios Monster Cookies

I had the craving. It's gonna hit the spot. These cookies are amazing. Try em out. Preheat oven to 350.

1 C. sugar
1 C. brown sugar packed
1 C. butter, softened
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
2 C. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
4 C. Honey Nut Cheerios
2 C. flour
1 C. oats
1/2 C. coconut
1 C. raisins

In a large mixing bowl, combine sugar through eggs & mix with blender. In a small mixing bowl, combine flour through salt, mixing with wire whisk. Add contents of small mixing into large mixing bowl & mix with blender. Stir in Honey Nut Cheerios through raisins until thoroughly combined.

Drop 1/4 cup fulls of mixture onto cookie sheet, flattening a bit. Bake 6 minutes, rotate pan, & bake 6 minutes more.