winter is here

today i woke up to snow. i am normally not a big fan of snow, especially now that i am deep in dirty suburbia, but there is just something so enticing about the first flurries that finds me watching at the window for endless stretches of time. the light and airy, delicate flakes fluttering about, it makes me want to be wrapped in a thick comforter sipping clam chowder. i should stock up soon, it feels like a very cold winter this year. maybe this year i will try to make clam chowder from scratch.

as it gets colder and colder, so do i. i hate the bone-deep chilly feeling i have all winter, even central heating is not robust enough to keep me comfy. its always been so, i must be exceptionally hot-blooded. the doctors have always said so anyway. in winter i feel like i am walking around with a fever constantly, a 4 month fever. my poor feetsies.

the lovely snow blues are creeping up on me again. i can feel the days getting shorter with each moon pass. soon i'll be in full blown hibernation mode and crabby as hell. the little things are starting to get to me as they tend to do when the warmth leaves the sunlight. i get morose and melancholy. i turn into a sleepy mama-bear. its strange, i feel torn between the compulsion to want to be alone and curl up in a den somewhere, and the strong desire to fold myself into the warmth of another. the battle rages on. hopefully my hunny will catch on soon that i need his snuggles more than ever right now, but i doubt it. it would do no good to come right out and say so. his life is so full of busy and important things that he doesnt notice those little bits of me looking sideways at him at odd moments anymore. i don't so much mind, i know he has a hustling bustling life full of interesting folks and captivating activities, but sometimes i miss the way it was. i hope he finds his way back to my heart soon. i long for those close moments, early morning snug in bed with frost on the windows, and secret kisses on sleepy lashes. i dont think it will ever be that way again, and i have come to terms with it, i have accepted it, it is... "O.K.", but i still think about those days. now it has turned into something different and new-ish. a sort of plateau. we have both settled into our separate roles, and now that he lives farther away, those roles have become even more distinct. i guess this is what it feels like to "grow up". thats what my mother would tell me, i think. i have tried different things lately, in silly attempts to recapture his attention, but we are where we are. i feel like for him, it is more of a comforting convenience state, a dependable familiarity. for me, i don't really know what it is., except that i want our love to grow and not wallow. transformation i could handle, loss i could overcome, but stagnation is a misery i cannot take. it is a long suffering death. but the more attempts i make unnoticed, the less i want to try, and resign myself to a lifetime of quite moments waiting at the window. i feel like a victorian widow. who knows what the new year will bring? certainly, more snow.

have been crafting of late. knitting, sewing, baking, and more. i made a giant foldy-pen to let the ratties run wild in. its really fun to just hang out in there with them climbing all over me. they seem to enjoy it quite a bit. albus has a bump under her arm that worries me, so we will be going to the vet soon again, and i will bring edward for good measure since she is also at that scary age of blossoming tumors. expecting surgery soonish. i hope my sweet girls will be ok.

frosty is in the delights of new company. i really want this to work out for him. he deserves someone to treat him right, and lord knows he has had his fair share of waiting. i think we are all trying not to count chickens on this one, but i have very high hopes, and so far have not been disappointed. his new found affection is going through some hard times right now yet is still unfailingly wonderful. i wish there was some way we could be more supportive of his situation, but at the moment it seems he just needs time and space to process everything, which i respect.

ah, winter. you are the unrequited suitor, every year spurned, never fail to return. someday i hope to greet your approach with an open heart and a warm hearth, but until then... hold off on the snow until you are serious.

strange ebay journeys

in continuing my ebay travels, i have bore witness to many strange things for sale on the interwebs. here are some examples that amused me:



a host of, apparently, "rare" used beverage containers from thailand:
http://cgi.ebay.com/RARE-EMPTY-THAI-ENERGY-DRINK-KRA-TING-DANG-CAN-TIN_W0QQitemZ220313664424QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item220313664424&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2%7C65%3A15%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318

http://cgi.ebay.com/RARE-EMPTY-THAI-BOTTLE-MILK-Free-Ship_W0QQitemZ220313664462QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item220313664462&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2%7C65%3A15%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318

http://cgi.ebay.com/RARE-USED-EMPTY-THAI-WATER-PAPER-CUP-Free-Ship-NR_W0QQitemZ320318771651QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item320318771651&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2%7C65%3A15%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318

http://cgi.ebay.com/USED-EMPTY-THAI-BOTTLE-WATER-2-LITRES-Free-Ship_W0QQitemZ320318771306QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item320318771306&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2%7C65%3A15%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318



Sweet & Hot Teenage Asian LLLOOOVVVEEE


jokes for donations (proceeds go to local animal shelters)


somebodys moustache

a LUCKY marble!

a hobo's antique whiskey bottle, dreams inside
i actually found a really cool blog from this. check it out:
I AM NOT AFRAID OF WINTER


an ALMOND OF LOVE (this is actually pretty common, i find these all the time)

your very own song, custom made to your specifications


a steaming pile of revenge


haunted spirit ring! hopefully payable by a course in web design


an answer


this mans life ... dont know about this one...


stephans soul

apparently you CAN buy friends


your story!

ghost dog

sagebrush

facebook friend

four leaf clovers!

florida in a tube

dead frog

california dirt

a casket key (for all the necros out there)

a serenade

a pothole

winter is here

no!
i hate it when this time of year rolls around. its too crisp and cold for my liking in suburbia. it might be different if i had forest to stroll in, but here its just nasty and cold. bleh. i had better step up my knitting projects.

i got a whole slew of craft supplies to keep me busy for a while. i got a sewing machine! w00t! i sewed the ratties a sweet honeycomb hammock out of fluffy bright green and purplr fleece, and they love snuggling in it. i also made a tunnle, but they havent really seemed interested much so far.

got all the food ready for turkey day and i am rarin to go there. black friday is gonna suck though, ill be working from 9am to midnight and then going straight to VA to see family. but ill have the weeked off, and tons of good food, so im sure i wont be in too terrible of a mood.

hate the weather, love the holidays.

IDEA

PROPOSED FINANCIALLY BENEFICIAL / AMUSING ACTIVITY:

ALTERNATIVE HALLOWEEN COSTUMES FOR SALE


for example:

-a door. maybe there is something interesting inside? maybe not?
-orange jews
-chick magnet
-chairman moo
-an elbow/big toe/belly button or other random non-genital body part. or be genitals, whatever floats your boat.
-native tongue (this could have several designs, ranging from silly to morbid)
-whorled peas (we have all seen the bumper stickers)
-a horses ass
-top hat
-flenser (LOL)
-randomly generated sidekick
-the palin baby name generator

more/concept images to be posted!

election results live!

Sqd costume

here is my halloween costume. its a squid hoodie that frosty made me for my birthday. yay! its a pretty crappy picture taken from my camera phone, so you cant really make out the tentacles too well. use your imagination.

stuffy stuff

things have been crazy lately. helping the boyfriend move and settle into his new place. getting used to the new routine. new critters that i will have to write about. cooking experiments. reading new and interesting things. meeting new folks. work, work, work and soon, more WORK.

sheesh.

i've been looking at a lot of crafting sites/blogs and dang, it makes me want to create stuff. somehow i got into the habit of never having time to make neat things anymore, and i hate it. i need to start forcing myself to take time for creativity. i need a tangible outlet for all these ideas, concepts, and spontaneous brain explosions. i need to start knitting again, more. i have got a huge box of wonderful yarns calling me forlornly from my craft shelf that i have been blocking out for too long. i'm going to try to make at least 5 things this month. its about time for my annual matching hat/scarf frenzy, and i want to experiment with mittens this year. i wish i had a person to help me learn this crap, there is too much lost in translation from written instructions, and it gets overwhelmingly complicated real fast. i need to make a few cat-hats to warm up my knitting memories. i need to get ahold of some needles.


i also have been missing painting, so i think i will devote some time to that soon. i've been mulling around some ideas for turning one of my paintings into a series. maybe i'll work on that this week.

i've been doing cooking experiments, which have been very satisfying. last week, i made a super romantic fantastic dinner for the boyfriend (aka: MDM) consisting of delicious spice-crusted swordfish steaks, roasted/grilled vegetables, and delicious shells in a creamy herbed-mushroom sauce. (fresh shiitakes! yum!) we ate it with some delicious wine, and it was a great evening.
i made enough for leftovers, wonderful with Spanish rice.

a few weeks prior, i made a big crab feast at his new place. crab cakes, hot crab dip, fry chips, fresh baked bread, a yummy feast!

i made some pumpkin rolls which turned out delicious, so next i will be playing around with variations of this with other squash/carrots/different spices, etc.

i found a mouth waveringly enticing recipe for chocolate chocolate chip banana bread, which i will try. i might make another batch using dark chocolate and nuts as well. i cant wait!


we have new critters at the zooquarium!
a new rattie girl, names princess buttercup, that we rescued from petsmart. she had been alone there for far too long, and i am glad we grabbed her, because she is just the sweetest thing ever. so cuddly! my only regret is not bringing her home sooner! now we have 6, and the cage is looking a bit not-big-enough-for-my-tastes. we may be rigging up a new cage and tunnel system soon to give them more leg room. its fine as it is now, the cage we have now is plenty huge, but i am of the "too much room is preferable to simply sufficient" philosophy.

we also have a new turtle! her name is Lois, and she is technically a tortoise, being a box turtle. we were given her by a coworker who saved her from her dog, and her kids wanted to keep her as a pet. after about a week she decided she couldn't handle her properly and gave her to us, knowing we are turtle lovers and would take good care of her. we made her a BIG pen and she seems to be quite happy there.


whew, that was a lot of typing. i have a horrendous cut on my thumb and it hurts so im done writing for now.

squiddy stuff

found this great artist, Lana Crooks. she does fabric art and uses lots and lots of tentacles! her stuff looks great. i wish i was in the area so i could go to her exhibit.