New Frontiers

Hare and Hazel

Hare and Hazel, a modern Pagan E-zine, is now up. (Hurrah!)

It is still in it's infancy, and will become snazzier it grows.  BTW, if you have any insight as to how I can really whiten the background of the comic in Photoshop, without losing detail, please, please, tell me.

Happy Halloween!

Halloween Comic

For all you Democrats, Indpedendents, and Greenies, here's a good Halloween comic for you:

http://featurepage.creators.com/washpost.html?name=lk

Quality TV

I've  been hearing rumors that Studio 60 is going to be canceled.  And I'm not pleased.

This is the best show since the debut of The West Wing.  It's witty, funny, heartfelt.  Sure, it may be about the production of a late-night, comedy TV show, but they've already broached the subjects of drug addiction, owning up to your past mistakes, racial tensions, plagiarism, Christians' take on comedy... and I've only seen three episodes.

What does it say about America that the low-brow, reality TV shows are thriving, but a tightly crafted show with incredibly clever dialogue is about to get the ax?  Please, if you love this show, raise a hue and cry to keep it!  And if you haven't seen it, please, please tune in.  And tell everyone you know to do so as well.  We need to keep what little quality TV we've got.

Side Effects of Mom-dom

Tonight, I am going OUT.  Okay, so it's a field trip to watch my hypnotherapy teacher's stage show, but still. OUT!  I was hoping we'd find a babysitter and Danny could come, but that didn't work. But, other people from class will be there, so it's okay.

But since I am going out, I thought it would be nice to not look like a mom (disheveled hair, pants with unrecognizable smears, and diapers in my purse) so I put on a nice shirt, styled my hair, and tried to put earrings in.

It's been so long since I wore earrings, though, that the holes closed up. Oops. Unless I want to get them pierced  again - which I don't - I think I'm done wearing earrings. Ah, well...

Nonetheless, I'm off to my outing. I may even have a beer!

Duckie!

Because he worked a 15-hour day, followed by a 14-hour day, Danny was supposed to get off at noon today.  Zoe and I were going to meet him in the International District for lunch.  Surprise, surprise, he did not get off early.  But Zoe and I went down anyway. We stocked up on pot stickers, wasabi peas, wonton wrappers, and we got her some shoes to go with her Halloween costume. Then I decided to get a duck, since we were there. 

The Uwajimaya market sells whole, roasted duck.  And I wanted one.

"With or without the head?" the lady behind the counter asked.

"Definitely headless, please.  I'm not used to having my food look at me."

"People like to use the head in soup." She laughed, then called over her shoulder, "One duck, no head!"

So Zoe and I moved over to the duck counter where an older man was very efficiently hacking the duck into small pieces.  The head was the first to go, but found it's way into a sack rather than the trash.  Someone having duck-head soup tonight?

Zoe recognized the duck for what it was, even lifeless, featherless, and cooked. "Duck!" She said, pointing. "Duck, duck, duckie!"  Our dinner duck was a far cry from either her yellow tub duckies or the feathered food robbers from the lake, and she didn't seem disturbed by the dismemberment.

But I couldn't get the thought of duck head soup out of my mind.  Do they throw it in whole?  And what happens to the eyes?  Do they stay with the head, or eventually come out and float in the broth, to be eaten by the unwary?  Do they pop like large caviar?  And what about the duck brain?  Do they eat it? Remove it before putting it in the soup? Let it liquefy and "flavor" the broth? Blech. Blech, blech, blech.  (I am SO American.  Just can't imagine eating eyeballs or brains, though I know that people around the world do.)

By the time we made it home I was no longer imagining the pop of boiled duck eyeballs, and tucked into the meat with no thoughts for the previously attached head.  It was SO good. Of course, there is more meat than Zoe and I can eat anytime soon, so perhaps some duck dumplings or a nice cassoullet are in order.

I really need to take someone who reads Mandarin with me next time, so I can figure out what's in all the many packages of prepared food that I can't figure out.

You know, perhaps I should have taken the head, then spring-loaded it in our jack-o-lantern. That would have been a surprise for the trick-or-treaters.

Work, Work, Work

Both Danny and I are working hard.  Danny is, again, still at work.  It's another night that he's likely to be there past midnight.  Tonight he'll take a cab home so that Zoe and I don't have to get up and drive in to Seattle in the middle of the night. Personally I think he should hand his company a bill for it.  If he has to work that late, they should pay for his transportation home. (Because even if he wanted to drive in, who can afford to park downtown?)

I've also been putting in a lot of work tonight, getting my "mystery project" ready to go.  Zoe let me know I'd been working too long tonight. I'd made a cup of coffee, then promptly forgotten it on the side table next to the couch, returning to my computer to finish something up.  It took longer than the few minutes I thought it should, and I got sucked in. Then I heard a giggle by my side.

There stood Zoe, carefully holding my full cup of coffee in both hands, and reaching it out towards me. "Mommy," she said, and offered the coffee to me.  I can't believe that at 19 months, she's figured out that I need the coffee, or that she carried it all the way across the room without spilling a drop.  Feeling suitably guilty, I got up from the computer, took my coffee, and went to sit on the couch with Zoe.  We practiced her colors, and the Pat-A-Cake game.  And yes, it was more fun than formatting.

She's such a good little girl.

Because These Pictures Are Overdue

Zoe and Julian having a play date. They were very glad to see each other after five months living in different states

Zoe is obsessed with stairs. Julian has a thing for light switches.

Zoe reading her Dragonology book.  (Well, okay, looking at, not quite reading.)  "Dragon" is quickly becoming one of her favorite words.  Oh, and note the new duvet cover!  This is the one I picked up at Ikea.

Oooohhh.... Ikea.

Heidi and Julian came down today and we all headed off to Ikea.  I'd never been before, and I am smitten.  All that stuff!  And it's so inexpensive.  I didn't mean to shop, as I was along mostly to keep Heidi company, but I did give in a little. 

First, I found non-religious themed, chocolate, advent calendars.  I haven't been able to find one of those in years.  So of course I had to get it.  Then, in the kids section, they have these bed canopies shaped like giant jungle leaves.  (Zoe now has one over her crib, which she adores.) And I finally got a new duvet cover.  The one I've had for the past five years or so is just plain tan. Very, very boring.  It's soft, and was okay for the bright, sunny Colorado winters, but Seattle winters require more color. So when I saw the Thisted Blom design (burgundy floral with sage green and dusty blue accents on an off-white background) I was tempted. When I realized that the duvet cover and two pillowcases cost only $19 I couldn't pass it up. And Danny has sworn that it's not too floral for him.

We also had lunch in the restaurant - and surprisingly, Zoe likes Swedish meatballs but turned her nose up at the rice pudding.

And lest you think I did nothing but shop today, I also finished an illustration, researched an article, proofed another article, read and took notes on 21 hypnotherapy scripts, cleaned the house, read a short story, and went for a walk. All terribly domestic and comfortable but unexciting.

But don't worry... there's something exciting just around the corner.  Stay tuned for the unveiling....

In An Instant, Language

Zoe's language skills have taken a flying leap over the past two weeks. From having about thirty words, and only two short sentences, she's begun talking a blue streak. Every day she picks up multiple words, to the point that we have no idea how many words she has now. She can, within limits, tell us what she wants.  She's learning her colors, and counting.

Unsurprisingly, she's also using "no" quite frequently.  "Are you done?" "No!" "Ready to get out of the tub?" "NO!"  "Will you give Mommy a hug?" "No!" (Though this last is said with a giggle, and a hug is usually forthcoming.)

"All done!" is another favorite.  She uses it to tell us she's done eating, wants her hands/face cleaned, but also that she's quite finished with whatever we're doing that she doesn't like. Like, say, washing her hair. Hair washing and combing is punctuated with frequent cries of "ALL DONE!"

If only things actually worked that way.  I'd love to exclaim "all done" halfway through my rush hour commute to class and either instantly arrive, or have the traffic disappear. But I think I'm going to have to continue to suffer through it, as Zoe will through the hair washing.

Sleep? What's That?

Want to guess what time Zoe and I drove into Seattle and picked Danny up from work last night? 1:30 AM. We got into bed a little after 2. At 3:30, the alarm went off so Danny could get up, dial in to work, and make sure some photos had indeed been uploaded.  At 3:40, the guy who hadn't yet uploaded said photos called to talk to Danny.  Some work was done, and at 5:30 AM, Danny finally got to come back to bed, just to have to get back up and 7 to go to work. Bleargh. 

And just in case you're wondering whether or not I got to sleep in - nope. Zoe got up at 7:30, so I did, too.  Thank all the Gods that tomorrow is Friday. We (but especially he) need to sleep.