I guess I posted once before about Flannery O'Connor's gorilla in "Wise Blood," but that's been so long ago. Let's talk about it again. I was working on a paper about a different story of hers, but came across this quote about what the gorilla costume means. I thought I would put it up here as a warning. A warning. of just where that costume can take a person...
O’Connor’s narrator describes Enoch as divided into two parts: “one his blood sense and the other his social self.” Enoch finally rejects his “social self to embrace his wise blood, donning a gorilla suit that signals his entry into the animal world" (Brinkmeyer 107).
Caron, if you do ever reject your social self to embrace the animal world, I feel confident that the who cares rebel women would be Jane Goodall to your Flo.
Onion goggles! To protect you from the nasty fumes of an onion. Or a scallion. Or anything like that. I can't totally imagine myself really whipping out my onion goggles to chop something up, but I kind of wish I was fashion-forward enough to do so....
What say you? Worth the $20 (on Amazon, $24 on thinkgeek)? Or, better yet, what tricks work for you to avoid those painful onion tears?
A big hello to you all from Pennsylvania--just miles from Gettysburg.
I thought of you all yesterday as my teacher was giving us a little bonus lesson on guilding-- the adhering of gold onto vellum or paper. People use a lot of acrylic mediums now to do the adhering. But, prior to the invention of acrylics, gesso was used. It is very temperamental stuff and the conditions have to be exactly right for the gold to stick. The right humidity and absolutely no dust in the air. In fact-- the best place to guild-- according to Sheila-- is in an empty sealed room with no windows, regulated temp. and no clothes on.
So, things could get a little wild around here after all!
scenario: it's the eve of our 9th anniversary. jay (NEVER MISSES WORK) stayed home today because he was feeling extra, uber, really sick. long day for me with kids + housework + schoolwork + getting groceries + prepping basement for water flooding.
enter 11:50pm. already decided i was taking the couch. i don't want fever & chills. (and our couch really is so comfy). but i somehow find myself watching the first week of "dancing with the stars" online. florence henderson, jennifer grey, david hasselhoff?!! WHAT!!! it's irresistable. is this how t.v. programming is supposed to work? i've been able to stave off all other lures (except for LOST)...but i think i may be starting something that i cannot control. what if BABY falls? or ALICE takes a tumble?! or MICHAEL biffs it (please please please)??
i watched this video this morning, hiding in the bathroom for a moment of quiet before a busy day of services & lunch elsewhere. anyhow, when i got to the "i got big, i got sad...lost a relationship" i started bawling. and then bawling to see transformation. i don't know who this guy is...but i'm so glad he found the strength and motivation to work out the sadness.
happy birthday, darb! what a gift to be your sister and your friend. i hope it's an awesome birthday, full of abundant things over which to give a knowing wink. many happy returns of the day of your birth. you're a present to us all.
the sky is a blazing red this morning, kinda like your hair was that one spring. hope you're enjoying some zzz's or the same beautiful scene out your window, with a cup of coffee and your little fellas sleeping til 9!!! cheers: to the woman who is not afraid to walk straight through the eye of the storm and always comes out on the other side as if nothing too out-of-the-ordinary had just occurred. love you darby!!
a happy birthday to cheryl: thrower of great parties, guru in the kitchen, reader, conversationalist, schoolmarm and design wizard, we are so lucky to have you as a friend! hope you have a super day.
It has been said that if you give Cheryl a free coffee, she'll wear that vest anywhere. Well, Cheryl, I hope that today the coffee is free with no strings attached. Though that vest is quite fetching. I'm so glad we're friends. Have a great birthday.
A very happy birthday to you, Cheryl! May the day be filled with laughter, joy, and celebration.
I like how in this picture you are all kind of raising your chocolate chip cookies in a sort of delicious dessert-based toast. If I had a cookie right now, I'd raise it to you!
when i think of a spirit of camaraderie, this particular evening comes to mind. celebrating the finish of a tough TOUGH semester, we three met at the brazenhead for some toasting, dining, & polluting the air. but more, we were gathered to celebrate the end of a great amount of focused effort + perseverance = COMPLETION. it is a pleasure and privilege to celebrate milestones with friends.
and so today, Cousin to All, to you i offer: my elbow raised high, head tilted to the left, dorkiest grin i can conjure, and hand extended in that better-to-give-than-receive way. A HANDSHAKE OF HUGEST PROPORTIONS!! love. love. love.
this is henry in the backyard killing bears like a good pirate. he goes by the name pirate andrew and only kills mean animals. bunnies and small birdies are his favorite...he wraps them in a blankie and protects them from the neighborhood bulldog. this may be my favorite age for a young kid...when they tell elaborate stories and love to delve into imaginary settings. and, since he's the youngest, he doesn't boss anyone else around.
"the row" is just around the bend. and if she attends, you-know-who will have the pleasure of your company on her very own birthday!! (i particularly like the WHITE RABBIT (!) on this card).
prepare for it, trio--it's going to be a good birthday. it's going to be a great year. you WILL celebrate well!
Anyone up for breakfast on Friday morning? If so, come on over to my place, where I'll brew up some coffee and we can do some stupid things with great amounts energy. (Decaf also available).
I know folks among us have preschool and things in the morning these days, so let us make the fact that you can show up at my house anytime after 6:30am (gasp!) the first stupid thing of the day's event.
Though, truly, I'll have a smile on my face, just like this lady does-- even at 6:30 in the morning--if it means seeing you all.
Anyone want to go to this Conversation with Writers with me? It's at KANEKO this Tuesday, Sept 14 at 6pm. Some big deal neuroscientist/musician/writer will be facilitating. He studies -- among other things i'm sure -- the connection between the brain and music.
The lecture is free and it's for writers, students and educators -- the bill fits practically every Who Caresian out there! You just have to register. I'm all signed up.
last night our discussion group met at this newer place that had the potential to be a really great spot for chillin'. and then we spotted an old suitcase with SNUGGIES for patrons to use. ack! but beth, being a fun-lovin' gal, was happy to sport the leopard print snuggie for posterity. they had an old nintendo to play, board games, & a pretty kickin' jukebox ("like a virgin" was dedicated to rachel, who is currently winning the whocares-procreation-race!).
it's friday. today is looking to be insane. appointment, appointment, drive kids to mother-in-law, appointment, make dinner, people over to eat. kids are in their room saying different first names with the same last night: mcpooperson. with all the nutty running, i have a feeling we're gonna be laughing a lot today. if not, i'll think of the leopard print snuggie & brooke competing in the spelling bee in a gorilla costume. hope your day is starting well.
I'm competing in this tonight as part of a team from work.
Coursing through me are terrible flashbacks of my brief (but marginally successful) career as a child speller. My palms are sweating. My stomach is churning. I'm paging through lists of practice words. (ichneumon. really?!)
JUST IN CASE cheryl's WTF fail post wasn't enough to make you giggle 'til midnight, watch the following videos. watch the first one. it gets funny about 45 seconds in. THEN...watch the remix. i'm still giggling.
soon enough i'd like to post some news about an artist/friend that i know you will love. some of you already know her/her work -or- knew her/her work when she was in omaha. anyhow, she's embarking on an exciting project and i think some of you will be interested in purchasing, visiting, supporting this endeavor. so. here are a few of her pieces:
we were out walking the other day and i noticed this sign on the bridge that goes over dodge street near uno. it makes some pretty bold claims about the specialness of the bridge. the inscription ("most beautiful bridge. special type.") is so great.
Okay. So, clearly, I've spent too much time online today. But, this site is funny. Funny pics along with snarky captions. It reminds me of that site Lindsay posted about people living the catalog life.
The caption that goes with this photo is: "Every ridiculous, overpriced, overwrought accessory in its place." I particularly like the gnome side table and the gasoline can. Maybe those items are the solution to my "problem corner."
A friend of mine from grad school posted this on facebook and I thought you'd all enjoy it. As my friend also noted, it's a little funny that this particular book is being marketed with a video. Glad to know that all whocares kiddos don't need to be told: "It's a book!"
In keeping with the CS Lewis quote that Caron posted, I've got a quote about love that's been rumbling around in my head lately too.
"The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love." Galatians 5:6
I'm sure that I don't know exactly how that looks in real life, but I'm also sure I'd like to find out. I bet it's not far from the sort of thing that Lewis talks about.
i came across this c.s. lewis quote a few days ago and haven't been able to shake it from the front of my thoughts.
“To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket- safe, dark, motionless, airless--it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable.”
Last night I came home late and Caleb told me one of our neighbors had come over while I was gone. Just to tell him that some "mexican lady" had pulled her car up in front of our street side garden and sent her kids out to scavenge some vegetables before driving away. Caleb just said, "I don't care." He really didn't. He thought if she needs it, she should have it. What a gem.
But I do care. I was so peeved I almost took my flashlight out there last night to check out what had gone missing. But it was raining and I guess I didn't care that much. Still, I was mad. I planted that garden with visions of canned goods to get us through the cold (but tasty) winter. I've tended it all spring and summer. And those long-awaited eggplants are just now ripening to perfection!
And then, all those thoughts from some book I never read anymore creep into my thoughts. "Don't worry about tomorrow (if i don't, who will? besides, i don't have a "real job" and this garden helps our grocery budget!)" and "Give to the poor (who says she was poor?)" and "Store up treasures that last, not ones that can rot (but canned goods can hardly rot!)" and something else I'm sure I could remember about "firstfruits" and "gleaning" if I thought hard enough.
And I remembered that earlier that day I'd harvested 2 beautiful eggplants and a shitload of tomatoes. And we did have a bountiful dinner from our garden with those eggplants and perfectly ripe tomatoes. And more importantly, we've always had enough. And usually way more than enough.
But don't get me wrong, I'm still kinda irked. But I feel sufficiently ridiculous, too. :)
dispatch: our main focus for this first week of "back to school" is developing a set of routine behaviors that aid in a less chaotic start to the day. the first set for the kids is fairly simple: when you wake up, go to the bathroom, get dressed, put your PJ's away, & brush your hair. make your bed is added in tomorrow. (and one that's unwritten: give mom a hug/kiss)
anyhow, do you have any habits you adhere to?
jay and i have our own code/habits: no gas-passing in the bedroom, whoever is the last one out of bed has to make it, the coffee IS ALWAYS made the night before & set to auto brew (4:30am), & no dishes left in the sink at night.
i'm trying to add flossing to my daily list after a terribly depressing visit to the dentist (i'd been away for 9 years). upon leaving the doc smiled at me and said, "you're not a bad person." i had been hoping for "you're not gross" or "it's not that bad".
aah september. welcome new month, on the heels of 69 posts in august. i raise my fourth cup of coffee to you precious friends this morning and say, "ole!".
question: is it okay to paint on a drizzly day? no, i'm not painting the outside of my house. i want SERIOUS ANSWERS!
we went to the forest park nature center yesterday for a discussion about snakes. the kids touched two corn snakes and a baby turtle. then we went for a hike. it's all about timing, my friends. i knew we could handle the 2 mile hike BEFORE 3pm...but after? oh boy. the youngest E's were racing to be the leader and both fell, lodging rocks under the skin on their palms. so there i was, a mile away from the nature center, lugging violet on my back and trying to distract them from the impeding extraction. as we're making the 45 minute drive home, someone else in the car (not me) "HAS TO POOP REALLY REALLY BAD...OOOH, REALLY BAD". there were no gas stations. no nothing nearby. so i just said, "you're gonna have to hold it" and she did.
