I went apple picking at Honey Pot Hill. Picking was slim - the trees were really tall, all the apples were way up high, and it was really muggy. Plus I was suffering from a full-body hive attack, an allergic reaction to something I ate. I managed to get more than enough Cortlands to make a pie. I made the crust from scratch in the food processor. I learned the hard way that it's not large enough to make a full batch from the Baking With Julia cookbook. I ended up making a half batch. I cut up more apples than I should have (Joy of Cooking recipe, Apple I) and decided to just throw them all in. I did not, however, cook the pie any longer, and so the apples were sort of firm in many places and there was way too much juice, even after it cooled for 4 hours. Next time, I'm following the recipe. The crust was awesome, and the pie was tasty, but not as good as the pie Amanda made today. She used winesap apples and followed the recipe from Joy of Cooking (Apple I).

This is only half of the huge rainbow I saw today, stretching out across the sky. It was a full rainbow; you could see both ends! You can't really see in this picture, but it was a double rainbow. About an inch from the rainbow you see was another, fainter one. So cool.



This photo was taken from a parking lot because Amanda wouldn't let me take it at a Stop sign. She said it was a yield sign. So I pulled over into a parking lot of what I think might have been a car dealership.

Politics in the city

I went to a political debate last night, held at a local bar for the race for Mayor. As I left the house, I thought to myself: "This is the only way I could be persuaded to go to a debate - at a bar."

It was okay. The candidates talked too much and often didn't answer the question. There was some heckling from the audience - which was kind of annoying. The local self-proclaimed minister of culture thought he should engage in kind of bratty heckling. It was childish, but I guess that's what you get in a bar. I would probably go back to another debate at a similar place but would only have one beer. I'm feeling pretty cruddy today after 2 and a half. Though I really enjoyed the Ephemere beer - flavored with green apple, coriander, and curacao. DEE-lish.

Personally, It's Kind of Fun

I am now on another dating website, and it's definitely a little different than the first one. For one thing, people seem to be more open to sending emails. Also, they have pre-written one-liners that you can send, instead of just a wink. Like, "Thank for getting in touch. Do you have a photo you can post?". I've emailed back and forth with a few guys who all seem nice, albeit illiterate (well, not all of them, just some.) Then I got this email from a guy I never emailed with before.

melissa,,lets marry for real,,,joe,, my yahoo ID is -----,,you,ll like everything about me,,god bless

Let's marry? I don't think so.
God bless? I believe my religion is listed as agnostic. Maybe he could have chosen another closing to his quite eloquent email.
And what's with all the commas? He's even used on in place of an apostrophe.
Also, he's got the worst moustache that goes all the way down to his chin.
What a winner.

TGIF

It's been a rough couple of days. Not that I like to complain (not at all, really) but it all started on Thursday morning. I was just about to head out the door and was attempting to put in some earrings when I noticed that my chest and neck were all blotchy. I was covered in hives from my neck (right below my chin) to halfway down my legs, my arms, tops of my hands, and it was starting to itch. I looked pretty nasty but I was late and hungry and needed a coffee to counteract the Benadryl I knew I'd need to get rid of the hives. So I stopped at the bagel place and hoped that people didn't give me any funny looks.

I put the call into my friend, just in case something happened to me, someone would know I had hives. Since I didn't have any trouble breathing it was probably okay.

2 Benadryls in, I had a meeting at my desk. For once, I had an in-person meeting instead of a conference call, and I looked like I had Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever plus I was having trouble focusing from the Benadryl. How professional.

It was apple picking day (work outing) and the rash stayed away until about 5, and then it came back but there was no way I was going to take anything else because I wanted to have a beer and I knew there would be problems if I mixed. My fish sandwich tasted fishy, and that's not good even though it was fish. I'd had a caramel apple, 1 and a half cider donuts, and a pint of apple cider. Nature's laxative was running through my system and I was a half hour from home. Could be a serious problem.

I got home around 10:30 (after stopping at Amanda's to watch the office) and noticed when I opened the door that it wasn't actually closed. Had I not pulled the door all the way closed when I rushed out with the 3 trash bags, covered in hives and running really late? Probably, because I've done it before. I went in and noticed that the living room light was switched off by the wall switch, not the remote. I didn't think I'd done that so I was sketched out. I called the parents, Dad came over and fixed my loose doorknob, and then went around checking out each room, the cellar, closets, and eaves. Each time he opened a door, he called "Boo!" It was awesome.

Nobody was here. It was all paranoia. But I still grabbed my pjs, contact stuff, and eyeglasses and headed down to the parents' for a sleepover. And here's the worst part. I dropped my glasses on the ground and drove over them with the car. They are totaled. Totaled. $351 - 6 months ago. I am such an idiot. Time for shopping that is even less fun than shopping for jeans; shopping for glasses.

Today, the rash was still around but it's getting much better. I checked in at the doctor's and they said "lay off the wine, take the Benadryl if it flares up, and let us know if the hives don't go away by Monday." I'd had wine on Wednesday night; it could've been an allergic reaction.

So, I'm not even going to bother calling the eye doctor's to see if there is a warranty. What kind of warranty would cover me driving over the darn things? I'm just going to suck it up - or maybe wait until I get the rx in the mail and then call them and ask. I need to spend less on the next pair, so I'm going to try lens crafters.

And so, thank goodness it's Friday. I am done for the week.

Working from home

Working from home is the new thing for me. Twice a week I work in my PJs. I am actually really productive, and usually don't eat very well, or get any laundry done. Today, I was in meetings for about 7 hours but I found time to take a 20 minute walk around the block and I made it to the 5:30 pilates class that I usually have to skip because I get out of work late and get stuck in shitty traffic on 290. Stop and go all the way up the hill between Main St Shrewsbury and Lincoln St. Traffic comes to a screeching halt right after the Main St Shrews exit, but there' s a bend in the road and you can't see the brake lights until it's too late to get off the highway before you're stuck in the jam. This week, for 2 days in a row, I didn't have to deal with traffic. Awesome.

Tomorrow's a different story.

Movie Review

I just watched The Painted Veil, with Naomi Watts and Ed Norton. Ed Norton is one of those actors who's not really attractive unless he has a tan. He was not cute, by any means, for the first 9/10 of the movie, and then, he had a tan and a white tank top on and looked pretty good. The movie was good, too. I might try to read one of the other books by the author (W. Somerset Maugham). But for now, I'm watching reruns of King of Queens.

Movies and more

I just renewed my Netflix account, and I'm starting small - 2 out at a time, unlimited number of rentals, for the low price of $13.99 a month. I have a feeling I'll up it to 3 at a time when it starts snowing.

To continue 21 things about myself:

6. I enjoy solitude but only when I'm alone by choice. When I want to do something, talk to someone, or just don't feel like being alone, I feel antsy and usually end up going shopping.

7. I judge people by the beer they drink. It's not nice, not open-minded, and I probably shouldn't vocalize it, but I do.

8. My favorite kind of pizza is homemade. I buy the crust pre-made at Price Chopper and use canned tomato sauce or jarred sauce - whatever I have around. I have yet to find a pizza in the city that I really like, aside from Papa Gino's. Even Papa's, though, has gotten much much thinner over the years and makes me feel a little icky after I eat it.

Books

I love to read and have a headache today because I didn't get enough sleep last night because I was reading. I was up past 1 am reading. I just had to finish the book, even though I knew it would not bode well for my demeanor on Thursday. So, I haven't been tagged, exactly, but I read Cate's blog and I am going to assume that "you" means "me". So here goes:

Number of Books
Less than I used to. Maybe 100. I got rid of most of my old college text books, and don't have many of my childhood books, unless they're in one of those boxes that my mother so gleefully deposited on my doorstep when I bought my house seven years ago. I have one bookshelf with books that I own. I usually read most books once, like I usually only rent movies once (though if a good movie is on TV I'll watch it; I just won't actually choose to watch the same movie more than once, if I had the option to choose something I hadn't seen. Maybe that's why I usually can't quote lines from movies.) I now have one bookcase of books, just 5 shelves, and one whole shelf is phone books.

Last Book Read
Driving With Dead People, by Monica Holloway. I didn't realize there was going to be a molestation factor until about halfway through, and then I had to get to the end to find out what happened. This is why I was up half the night last night. It was good but not really a happy book.

Last Book Bought
I only buy books now if I know I'll want to own it, if I know it will take a while to get through, or if I'm in an airport and I don't have anything to read. Or, if I'm traveling. I like to go into bookstores in other cities, and usually buy something. Last book I bought: Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight, used $4.99, in Boston.

Five Meaningful Books

It's hard to pick just 5; I'm doing 6 (really, 7 plus the series books).

Anne of Green Gables, the series, by Lucy Maud Montgomery. So romantic. And the Canadian TV series - awesome. Prince Edward Island is on my list of places to visit in my lifetime.

Little House books. I'm not copying Cate, but man, I loved those books and have read them so many times. I want to own them but right now I only have the first one. When I was younger, I made maple candy on snow, from the Farmer Boy book (heat up maple syrup, then squiggle it on snow and it hardens and gets chewy.

How to be Idle and How to be Free by Tom Hodgkinson: These books are changing my life and making me look at my life and my priorities and see where they need to changes so I can be happier.

The Xanth novels by Piers Anthony: These books are fantastic. Full of puns and plays on words, plus magic. For example, a spelling bee is a bee that buzzes around and instead of "z" floating behind the bee, letters spelling words do. See? Cool.

It by Stephen King: I did not like this book but I read the whole 4 inch thick hardcover when I was in middle school or whenever it came out and it really turned me right off of suspense novels. Lesson learned - don't start a scary book in the evening or you'll be up all night finishing it or else you'll have nighmares (see also: Pet Sematary)

We Thought You Would Be Prettier by Laurie Notaro. Laurie Notario is hilarious; I laugh out loud whenever I read her essays.


Well, since Cate is my only friend who has a blog, I'm not tagging anyone.

Melissa or Katie Holmes?

I just got my hair cut, in a new style. It's a stacked bob, I guess, shorter in the back than in the front. My bangs are still growing out so for work I sweep them to the side and use some hairspray and for all other occasions, I clip them back with a mini clip. Now, for those of you who've seen the haircut, picture it all nicely blowdried, with a little root lifter in there, and then, click this link to check out Katie Holmes. I think we have the same haircut!

Sunday's post - a day last

I spent Sunday doing housework - moving a king size bed from my bedroom to one of the other bedrooms. It's really uncomfortable, the frame is way too big for my bedroom, and I've been dying to get rid of it for months. Now, Chris' old room is a nice-looking guest room. Though I do have to sweep, vac, and mop it tonight.

My room, on the other hand, is full of dust bunnies and clean clothes that I don't have any room for in the closets and dresser. They are full of clothes that don't fit, or are summer weight.

To continue, 21 things you might not know about me...

3. I am not afraid of flying; but if I am delayed for 3+ hours due to a plan that keeps icing up and then fails its safety test twice, I am not raring to get on the plane. Even if it IS to go to Vegas.

4. I like prunes. They're sweet, chewy, are a good afternoon snack, and they also help out in the area that most women have trouble with (digestion).

5. I like aerobics. Yup, I do.

Writer's Block

This daily blogging is not the easiest. I don't really have much to say today - I got it all out verbally. So, I guess I'll try the "21 things about me you might not know".

1. It's not really a secret but I watch really bad TV. There are many nights when I'll watch back-to-back episodes of Reba, and I knew exactly why the Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus tour is called "The Best of Both Worlds". It's not as bad as the nights in college I'd stay up watching Blind Date, but it's pretty bad.

2. When I start thinking about something that I don't want to think about, I start humming to distract myself and get off the subject.

Absentmindendess

I made tomato soup at for lunch today, at around 12:30. I took the pan off the stove, poured the extra in a container, went on my way, and then 6 hours later, I turned off the burner. Yup, that's right. The gas was on simmer all afternoon. I even left the house and went to the grocery store. What is wrong with me?

Friday Night - Whoop Whoop

Oh my god, it's 6:49 and it's practically pitch black outside. How did it get to be fall already? The last time I checked it was still hot out. I spend way too much time indoors and now it's going to be too dark to spend much time outside anyway. I need to start walking with my reflector vest (It's cool, really. I'll also probably carry a flashlight.)

I just saw a breast cancer commercial in which one of the women said "Be my bra." It was talking about how you/we can be the support for people who have cancer. "Be my bra." That's the best they could come up with. In related news, the Stephen Colbert WristStrong campaign for wrist-health awareness is just hilarious.


Happy Friday!

What A Day

It started badly, running late as usual. Early morning argument about a concert I didn't want to go to. Then, I called the doctor because the wound seemed to be swelling up more. It's okay; it can take at least a day for the antibiotics to kick in. Keep the arm elevated, i was told. I wasn't so that's probably why. Late breakfast, not hungry for lunch until the caf closed. So, starving at 3, after having an apple and a handful of pistachio nuts for lunch.
Came home to a dead mouse on the porch. Probably a gift from Sam. First an infection, then a mouse. What a good cat.
I'm off to elevate my arm and read a book. And get psyched for The Office.

The Cats Strike Again

Isn't it appropriate that minutes after I got a text message that included this sentence "Quite a cat u met; what a sweetheart", my cat bit my arm, which subsequently got infected for the THIRD time in one year? First time Second time

The text was from a date, whose cat I met, and she really was a sweetheart. Much friendlier than my cats; he warned me once I met his cat, I wouldn't feel the same way about mine, and he's right.

Now, I've got circles on my forearm, and I have to watch to make sure that the infection doesn't spread. I also had a tetanus so I also have to watch out for side effects from that. Hives, itching, swelling of the ears and nose. Needless to say, it hasn't been the best of days.

12 Days to Start Fresh

I was having a conversation with a date (well, there it goes, now that I've publicly announced that I had a date, the future is doomed. I'll never hear from him again. That would be too bad.) about going to the gym and eating healthy and making decisions and resolutions. One of my friends said she was starting a healthy diet on Monday. Monday happened to be the first of October. Anyway, this date said that he starts things at the beginning of the month; he considers a new month like a mini New Year's, and that way, he has 12 chances to stick to resolutions. It makes things seem more attainable, and also makes it less crappy when you fail to stick to the resolution because you can just start over again next month instead of saying "well, I guess I know what will be on my New Year's Resolution list next year."

Anyway, I was reminded of this conversation when I read this post from Cate about resolving to spend less and get more sleep. I have worked pretty hard, and not really successfully, on spending less. First, I stopped using my credit cards. Then I stopped buying daily breakfast on the way to work. That saved about $100 a month, and helped with the other goal that I'm not getting any closer to achieving - losing 30 pounds. But then, I needed shoes, and then I got really busy at work and was too tired to make enough dinner so there'd be leftovers for lunch the next day, so I bought lunch at work, and ate lame dinners at home. And then, I needed more shoes.

So, I'm getting there but it's a constant battle. I spend money when I feel sad, but I don't usually feel better with clutter. Now, I spend money on practical things, mostly. I don't do the monthly Christmas Tree Shop trip, and I only buy beauty products I actually need.

My October resolution is to do some sort of exercise at least 4 times a week. So far, I've gone twice. There are three days left in the week. Can I do it? Time will tell.

I think my November resolution will be to work on reducing my level of anxiety. Perhaps by going to yoga or something. At this moment, I'm so wound up I don't know if I can wait until November.

A Post a Day

So, it's Down Syndrome Awareness month (that's Down, not Down's, but whatever), and there are a group of bloggers who are trying to post at least once a day for the entire month. It was started by a Tricia, who has a daughter with DS, and got to me by way of Cate.

I haven't been blogging lately, for a lot of reasons. Work is really busy and the last thing I want to do is sit in front of the computer at home after I do it all day. My eyes get really tired and my brain is burned out. I've been stressed about the house sale, dating (yes, that's not fun - well, it is, but the waiting, the waiting for the calls. That sucks.), my weight, keeping my house clean, and work (job interviews, getting turned down, turning jobs down, and now, taking a break and realizing that I am actually happy where I am. In work, in home, and eventually I'll be happy with my shape. It's something that I can control, I just have to put my mind to actually doing more than 2 days of exercise a week. And the crappy eating has got to stop.

So, as a way to get myself to write more posts, transfer more photos from the camera to the computer, and actually take more pictures, and to raise awareness of Down Syndrome (also called T-21, or Trisomy 21, because of the presence of an extra 21st chromosome. I'm going to draw an analogy which is going to seem possibly disrespectful, but I'm doing it anyway. Before I bought my Saab (my first official car - the wagon doesn't count), I never saw any other Saabs on the road. The only one I had ever seen was the one my friend Jim had. Then, once I got one, I saw them everywhere. It was like, I'd never noticed them until I was aware of them. Before Abby was born, the only time I encountered people with DS was at work, when I worked at a pharmacy and there was a residence in the neighborhood where developmentally disabled adults. Now, it seems like I see more babies or people with DS, I hear of more people having children with DS, and I'm basically just more aware. I know that being aware of it doesn't mean I can do anything to prevent it or make people who are concerned about it feel better but I do know that Abby's just another baby and I hope that being around people with DS helps me not treat them any differently than other kids, or people. It's not exactly like speaking loudly to people who don't speak your language, but I definitely hope I don't talk down to people with disabilities.

I listened to this show last weekend. One of the stories was about a news program called How's Your News about a team of developmentally disabled people who travel across the country doing man-on-the-street interviews. I thought the comment about how people take the news team more seriously when they have microphones was sort of sad. The story was actually really funny and worth the $0.95 download if you didn't happen to get it free off iTunes.

So, anyway, this post isn't especially insightful or thoughtful, but it's a post. Check out the Get It Down: 31 for 21 at the button below.

One of the suggestions made was to share 21 things about yourself. I might do that, but right now, I have to go do something else I've been neglecting. The laundry.

New Furniture!

I bought a new desk and a chair on Saturday. Much assembly required. The chair is great. Comfortable, sleek. Unfortunately, the arm rests aren't rounded, which means when I swing around, if it's not at the right height, they gouge the brand new desk!! That's right. Big gouge. Oh well. Here's the desk. I didn't get the hutch but I might go back for it.

Guess who loves the chair? Every time I got up for something, Willow was in the chair when I got back!

Little Monadnock

I went to Little Mondadnock a couple of weeks ago with Amanda and Karen. Here are a few pictures. It was a great view - Monadnock was like, right there!

Here we are, before the hike. Of course, we had to stop at the bathroom before the hike. It was a long ride up there.


The view of Mount Monadnock from the scenic vista of Little Monadnock.