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Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in
K. Stonham's LiveJournal:
| Thursday, October 2nd, 2008 | |
| 10:26 pm | Scared by a lack of color.... So, tonight I finally listened to the new NKOTB CD.... I am... disappointed. There were a few songs that I liked. I think "Single," in fact, is rather clever in its view of the relationship between fans and boyband songs. Overall, though, the CD is some pseudo-balladic pieces and a lot of what's called "dance" music (which, generally, is something I wouldn't be caught dead dancing to). What's missing? POP. There's nothing upbeat and catchy, which is, frankly, what the entire pop genre and specifically boybands get sold on. Even the pseudo-romantic pieces fail pretty hard, being more "I love your body" than "I love you." Hint: women of all ages prefer the latter to the former. Especially when repeated in the chorus for 3-4 minutes at a stretch.... I can appreciate that the artists are older and at different places in their lives than they were 15-20 years ago. I can write off my feelings of vague insult of their subject still being "girl" as a dialectical difference between Boston and Los Angeles. I can even get over not knowing who's singing 90-95% of the time, as their harmony is still good. But what I can't forgive is the lack of liveliness and sparkle to their songs. I love the boybands I do for their ability to inject color into my imagination. I want the old 'Kids back. I'm not sure I like the ones who wear monochrome and business suits in their photo shoots. It's not avante garde... it's boring and staid. Which is not what music should be. Trying not to feel betrayed. Hoping Wednesday's concert will be better than I'm currently thinking. Current Mood:  disappointed |
| Wednesday, October 1st, 2008 | |
| 12:10 pm | I'm Contagious... You know all that canning and preserving stuff I've been learning this summer? Apparently it's transmissible because last night at dinner, out of nowhere, Wonderful Husband wondered how hard it would be to make our own sausages. (Actually, this was not out of nowhere--we were having Italian sausage for dinner and have not yet found a satisfactory replacement for the ones Smart'N'Final no longer carry.) Sausage-making isn't a skill I've yet learned, but from preliminary research it doesn't seem that difficult and would only require one, maximum two, pieces of equipment we don't have.... ^____^ Current Mood:  amused |
| Tuesday, September 30th, 2008 | |
| 10:32 am | |
| Monday, September 29th, 2008 | |
| 1:43 pm | Monies, Water, and Thinking. In that order. The universe's consensus today seems to be that it is made of financial suckage. This... I cannot really argue with. Though given that my fingers still smell faintly of garlic from last night's meatballs, and that I have the ingredients at home for peach cream muffins, it seems somehow distant. Alternately, this is a message from my brain that I should have lunch soon. So it has been raining in areas not too far from here, but where I am it has merely sprinkled. I'm hoping this trend will continue until 5:30pm so that I can stop by the community garden and pop my fifteen popcorn plants into the ground. Get Rich Slowly had an article this morning about productive hobbies, which has made thoughts slowly churn in my head. We'll see if anything comes of them. Current Mood:  thoughtful |
| Sunday, September 28th, 2008 | |
| 3:38 pm | Sunday, Sunday... Got up at 7:45. Started dark load of laundry. Went for a four-mile bike ride, depositing check into savings account along the way. Not to self: bike rides are much nicer in the cool morning than in the hot afternoon. Came home, cleaned out kittybox, took out trash. Cleaned up patio, which included weeding, watering, sweeping the garden bed borders back to where they actually are as opposed to where Sushi thinks they ought to be, and taking all the removed plants out to the dumpster. Someday I will have a place where I can have a compost pile.... With Wonderful Husband's help, hung the laundry on the rack to dry. Set about fixing the kumquat syrup into kumquat marmalade (ten-and-a-bit jars reduced to eight-and-a-bit jars), preserved a second batch of kumquats whole in syrup (and preserved the syrup as well because it is nummy). Have plotted spaghetti, meatballs, and fresh bread for dinner. Have also plotted to make a batch of mixed pickles tomorrow, as I have two cucumbers, half a dozen little zucchini, and half a dozen green beans. Need to figure out what else I can knock off my to-do list. EDIT: Add "started pole beans and cat grass" and "washed car" to the above. EDIT EDIT: HA. DONE. All laundry put away, spaghetti/meatballs/bread done for dinner, cellphone numbers finally transferred over from old phone to new, vacuuming done by Wonderful Husband, jams and syrups and whatnots washed, labelled, and put away. Hereby declaring today done (save for maybe finishing up pots-n-pans-n-washing later) and am going to the pool to have a swim. Current Mood:  productive |
| Friday, September 26th, 2008 | |
| 10:34 am | Financial Stuff Ha. Bank has been purchased. I much prefer this option to having it crash, take my and Wonderful Husband's accounts with it, and us having to wait an untold number of weeks to get the money sent to us by the FDIC. We would be fine, our heads above water and all that, but it would be supremely annoying and probably stressful. Granted, I'm fairly sure that WaMu under the new ownership won't be quite as accomodating a bank as it has been, but as long as it doesn't start pulling the "we're going to charge you monthly to have us hold onto your money for you" crap that drove me away from Wells Fargo, I'll probably be fine with it. That's the news, now for the weather.... Current Mood: calm |
| Thursday, September 25th, 2008 | |
| 10:00 pm | Stuff. Life. Things. Wonderful Husband has spontaneously baked cookies. This is why he is Wonderful Husband. And they are oatmeal raisin, which is my favorite kind, even if most of them (fortunately) are being taken into his workplace tomorrow. So yesterday and today our street was being slurried, despite it having been done just a couple years ago and really not needing it at all. But this meant no parking for me and no driving on the street for either of us. Which led to our cars being parked overnight at my parents' place last night and us biking the two-and-a-wee-bit miles home from there last night and then back again this morning. Good exercise! And we clearly need it. Honestly, I think I would bike to work (it's just over five miles) except for the fact that I cannot handle the hill up to Costa Mesa. Traffic, fine, whatever. That hill? Gaaah. But this means that my bike is currently over at my parents' place and I need to go over there tomorrow evening to get it. Since due to the extra biking, I noticed where a pomengranate tree, a lime tree, and what I think is a grapefruit tree (didn't get a good look at it, but definitely larger citrus) have ripe fruit hanging over fences, which is perfectly legal for me to snag, and better me snagging it than the city cleaning it up off the sidewalks, ne? Also related to the slurrying: the housing association's flier informed everyone living here that we're not to wash our cars or overwater our gardens or spray down the patios through the end of this week, thus getting the new slurry coating wet. So guess what I saw when I got home today? Yup. Guy washing his truck. *sigh* Illiterate morons.... Things are slowly coming together here. The six hours in a hospital waiting room I mentioned the other week was related to a biopsy, which fortunately turned out fine and clear, so that's a weight off of things. Of the beans I planted, only one has survived (note to self: something at the garden likes eating them, so start them at home in the future), but the eggplants are all doing fine. Starting to pull the non-productive squash plants out, both at home and the community garden, and in the morning I need to remember to have Wonderful Husband help me with the trellis in the patio garden since I finally figured out why the top bar (the one supporting the three melons) keeps slipping, and how to fix it. I haven't sewn or written anything recently, but finally the library got in a few books I've been wanting so maybe I'll start actually reading my way through my reading list again. I'm so behind on my 50 in '08 reviews... Current Mood:  indeterminate |
| Sunday, September 21st, 2008 | |
| 9:11 pm | Just call me Dr. Claw... Am feeling somewhat wiped out at the moment. Wonderful Husband and I spent a large chunk of yesterday going around looking at possible resources for a project we've embarked on, and found a few possibilities. Whether or not any of them pan out... well, we'll see. Today we spent a few pleasant hours meeting up with friends and stopped in at Tenshi no Sumika, the LA-area Volks store. I admit to not finding too many of the ball-jointed dolls all that attractive, but there were a few there that I thought weren't too bad. I actually started getting "I'd kind of like one" vibes, but that was cured well enough by looking at the "Tools and Materials" page on their website later. Too much stuff just to take care of a doll! They're going to be slurrying our street this week, so Wonderful Husband and I bicycled over to my parents' place this evening and caught a ride back with my sister. The theory is we can park our cars over there in the evenings and bike in and out to them from home. If nothing else, it'll be good exercise. The neighbors two doors down from us are getting successively more annoying. Not only do they have a five-month-old yippy puppy to which they pay no attention, simply leaving it out on their patio all the time, but they've also taken to having rap parties on their patio, not just in the afternoon, but at midnight. *feral snarl* This is why I have cats. They're quiet. (Even if neither of them is a white Persian so I cannot be an evil genius stroking them and plotting world domination. Still, one takes what one can get. Does a mostly-white non-Persian qualify me to plot domination of at least Orange County?) Current Mood: tired |
| Monday, September 15th, 2008 | |
| 2:36 pm | Spaceship Under the Apple Tree/Transformers crossover ficbit, titleless for now.... ( Plotbunny Strikes Back! ) Current Mood:  bouncy |
| 11:55 am | *growlsnapsnarl* It is one of those days that causes me to despise the universe and most of its denizens. Probably not the ones who read this blog, but the other ones. Yes, ladies and gentleplums, it is indeed that special time of the month that we women alone get to experience. Except my body reacting in the wonky way it does to certain hormonal treatments, I experience it less often than most. This alone would not be so bad; I can deal with tummyache and being cranky without letting anyone at work or on the other end of the phone lines know of it. No, what is making me exponentially more likely to bite heads off is that about two and a half months ago I finally signed up for my company's 401K plan, with the expectation that it would be implemented beginning at the next quarter. IE, the paycheck I got today. (Before anyone says I should have done it sooner, allow me to inform you of the fact that my employer matches precisely zero percent, and I had to ask to find out if we even had a 401K plan....) So, in checking my paycheck today, I find... no deduction taken. Asking my manager about it, he calls up to our financial office, and apparently I was supposed to sign up with Cheryl (who is not in today) rather than online. Funny, isn't it, how that's directly opposite to what the 401K book Cheryl sent me three months ago said.... Going to ferally bite the head off a chocolate bunny now. Because that will at least improve my blood sugar level, if not my mood. Current Mood:  pissed off |
| Sunday, September 14th, 2008 | |
| 10:54 pm | Hassenpfeffer Bunny: Hi! Me: Oh hell no. Bunny: You know you want to! Me: Not the point. Bunny: But it'll be fun and easy! *dangles shiny interseries connections, theme, and possible titles* Me: ...I might be listening. Bunny: And it will be completely gratuitous and no one will get it except for you but if anyone does they will worship you forever. Me: ...Slag you to the Pit. Bunny: *grins* Unrelatedly, my Wonderful Husband has finally confessed that, yes, the real reason he married me was to have someone to sew the buttons back on his trousers when they (the buttons, not the trousers) pop off. Ha, I knew it! :) :) :) Current Mood: sleepy |
| 8:01 pm | Busy busy buzz buzz buzz. Bah. Another day of Doing Stuff [tm] and still ending up feeling like I've not got anything done. --made six lemons' worth of lemon curd, processed into three half-pint jars --made up a small loaf of pumpkin bread with the "half a pie" bag of pumpkin puree --made two large loaves of zucchini bread plus eighteen muffins --had my parents over for dinner; Wonderful Husband made the meatloaf, while I did up fresh bread rolls and sauteed the rest of the zucchini as an accompaniment --washed four loads of laundry --did dishes and washed lots of pots and pans --cleaned kitty box --made sun tea --made just over a dozen half-pint jars of kumquat marmalade... which have failed to jell. Grrr. So tomorrow might they get reprocessed until they *do*. Current Mood:  awake |
| Saturday, September 13th, 2008 | |
| 9:49 pm | Mostly Cooking Odd. Today feels like a "didn't do much" day, but listing it out it seems like a lot did get done. --Wonderful Husband and I discussed financial matters and feel we're on track with our goals --I sewed a bit on the 1925 zig-zag dress --he released the first episode of the Ultraman Moebius side story Ultraman Hikari --we cleaned the new (inherited) Cuisinart and I processed the steamed pumpkins into five-and-a-half pies' worth of gloop and put them into the freezer until time comes for pumpkin pie --we (mostly he) made a double-sized loaf of banana bread --I put up another jar of pickles from my garden --I deseeded and sliced up two and a half pounds of kumquats to make into marmalade tomorrow, and ate the whole five left over from that ^_^ --I followed the instructions in ![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} toothycat's birthday present to me and have bread doing its first rise downstairs Current Mood: thoughtful |
| Thursday, September 11th, 2008 | |
| 10:13 pm | Somewhat Accomplished Pumpkins not glooped, and basil not pistou'd. However, cooking implements have been scrubbed, so has the stove, bills have been paid, and the two-and-a-half-and-a-bit pounds of kunquats my coworker gave me have been cleaned and sorted for making them into marmalade probably tomorrow or Saturday. Therefore I'm going to count myself ahead of the game and call it a night. Sorting through the wreckage that is my desk can wait until tomorrow. Current Mood: tired |
| 6:57 pm | Stuff Last night I took the surviving pumpkins that I'd grown this summer and roasted them. I also made salsa, and toasted the pumpkin seeds. I've been munching on them and they are soooo yummy... just tossed them in olive oil with salt and pepper and roasted them on a cookie sheet for ~30 minutes at 350 degrees, stirring occasionally. My mother has given me her seldom-used Cuisinart (which used to be my late paternal grandmother's) so tonight the peeled pumpkins get turned into gloop and then frozen in individual pie-sized portions. I swear my garden is growing backwards as it gave me pumpkins already and is just now starting to bear melons.... One of my daily blog trawls is Dress A Day, and today's post (Ten Reasons Skirts are Better than Pants) amuses me greatly, especially #10. Some of the comments are quite good as well. ^_^ Current Mood: calm |
| 3:06 pm | . . . Have been up since 4:30am. Have spent six hours of that time in a place I'd rather not be (hospital waiting room). It can be Caturday nao plz? Current Mood: stressed |
| Wednesday, September 10th, 2008 | |
| 1:02 pm | Tales of a Green Thumb: Suburban Waterfalls ( clickie for community garden story ) Current Mood: cheerful |
| Sunday, September 7th, 2008 | |
| 10:45 pm | Good Will Always Triumph Over Kittens, Because Kittens Are Dumb. My parents came over for dinner tonight, and while we were eating Sushi showed off some of his new tricks. His vertical leaping ability has increased now to either the height of the kitchen counter, or the height of the railing leading up to my sister's room over the garage, whichever is more annoying. Wonderful Husband and I, in fact, were amused earlier, watching him go up that rather steep slope to the landing. However, this did set a warning bell in my head and so this afternoon I put Sushi's first Big Kitty Collar (safety collar, color: black because I wasn't cruel enough to pick the hot pink one) on him, complete with a tag with his name and both the home phone number and my cell number engraved on it. While we were eating, Sushi falls off the landing... on the outside of the fence. (Neither he nor Paris are allowed outside except on the patio.) Cue Wonderful Husband rushing outside to the bushes where Sushi landed (completely unhurt, and now exploring the Wonderful Wide World of Outside), followed by me with first the laser pointer (enticement) and then the water bottle (deterrant). We managed to capture him after a few minutes (to his credit, he wasn't trying to get away, he was just exploring the bushes). But Sushi is now grounded.... Current Mood: annoyed |
| Saturday, September 6th, 2008 | |
| 12:14 am | It's Getting Better All The Time~ Up late, with Beatles lyrics running through my head. There are far worse fates. Finally starting to move toward getting caught up with the Stuff I Should Be Doing [tm], which includes rather a lot of 'Net correspondance I've let slide. I'm also starting seeds on the patio as well as at the garden; the sixteen popcorn plants are starting to sprout. It may well be too late in the season for them to grow to maturity, but trying can't hurt, right? At most I've wasted only the seeds. The weather's been weird this summer, cooler than usual, so I don't know whether that will continue through autumn or if we're going to get a hot Indian Summer this fall. We'll see. Cooked dinner tonight, and even though it was a "chop this, throw in frying pan, chop that, throw in other frying pan, sprinkle seasoning on chicken and put in grill, with watermelon for dessert" thing, it turned out okay. Funny how that works sometimes. Someday, I swear, I'll get a handle on this whole cooking thing and given another twenty-five years I'll be as good as my mom. And, finally, Elizabeth came over tonight for our long-overdue sewing session (seriously, we haven't had one since Costume College, which was over a month ago now) and I started in on the Decades of Style 1925 Zig-Zag Dress. I'm doing it in a dusty slightly reddish purple, and was dreading having to hand-sew most of it since I'm doing black piping on all the godet seams, but I've figured out a way to do it by machine which is faster and easier on my hands. And, yes, I know I still owe pictures on the last dress I made (same fabric), so maybe tomorrow I'll get dressed up in it and the tam o' shanter and ask Wonderful Husband to take some pictures. For now, though, sleep. Current Mood: sleepy |
| Thursday, September 4th, 2008 | |
| 6:59 pm | Still Alive *reappears in a puff of Grimlock-like pastel sparkles* :) Things are cyclical around here. Have spent most of the past week in the doldrums/a bad headplace. On the other hand, had birthday/was given prezzies/ate cake! Also finished the 1920s tam o' shanter and cut out the second of the 1925 dresses. Cleaned up my garden plot, put a second round of tomatoes in, and started planting seeds today (pole beans, carrots, radishes, sunflowers, more cukes, dill, and chard). Also came home and tied up the three melons growing on my trellis here with nylon netting left over from my long-ago Flowery petticoat. *goes to plot dinnery things* |