Lookin' for a Home

Extra point is you know what song the title came from (hint - it's old!)

We've got an offer in on a little house and should hear later today if there is a a) flat refusal, b) acceptance, c) counter offer.  I'm expecting a counter offer, and to settle on a mutually acceptable price.  I'm being optimistic, you see.

Later today we're planning to go into town for the evening, with the intention of seeing an Imax movie at the Museum of Science.  I am most interested in the "Mysteries of the Great Lakes".  Transportation should be interesting - the nearest T stops are closed for construction and  there is apparently some species of bus service to make up for it.

Touring the Horror Hotels

Boston Dock, originally uploaded by cinderellenk.

Today we found out that our offer was not accepted on the little house in Falmouth, so off I went with our Realtor to look at four more possibilities. It was a little like The Three Bears in reverse (four bears) The first house was super cute and immaculately maintained. The second one was in rough shape with a failing retaining wall and a clear view of some really ratty neighbors. The third was full of curb appeal, but inside was awful, including a failed septic system, missing one whole window and a foundation crack. The fourth one was occupied by boys (stacks of empty beer cases at the back door), and needed major rehab plus a new roof. I think we'll take another look at the first one!

Morton's Toe

006, originally uploaded by cinderellenk.

I am blessed with a second toe longer than the big toe. My mother and I are always happy to tell anyone who doubts it that this is a sign of great beauty.  It is the very type of foot idealized in Greek statues, as a matter of fact. Turns out this "condition" has a name: Morton's Toe, and is associated with various muscular and skeletal problems, including knock knees and excessive pronation of the foot.  Who knew? I still think it's a pretty good foot, and if I have to be knock kneed and pronation prone (which I am) so be it.  As my Aunt Virginia often told me "you have to suffer to be beautiful"!

My Birthday Weekend in Boston

For my birthday weekend Shana and I drove into Boston and stayed at Lisa's place while she visited on the Cape.  My particular goal was to see the Dale Chihuly glass exhibit at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts.  I had seen a little of his work at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art and was really excited about seeing more.  I was absolutely not disappointed.  There were several rooms of  very large installations, and also rooms of smaller pieces with inspiration pieces and sketches.  The work was just stunning.  It was such a popular exhibit that throngs of people were waiting to come through. The BMFA was so overwhelmed that they were not checking coats and packages. If we had not had member passes I don't know if we would have been able to get in on the day we went.  Even with the crowds it was easy to  get a close look and lots of (wholly inadequate) pictures.  I've got a lot over at my Flickr Gallery.

Other birthday weekend activities included an Indian dinner, a visit to Whole Foods, a lovely Sunday nap and a movie.  We  saw Water for Elephants, which was pretty much as I expected, but quite nice to look at and the sort of undemanding movie I wanted to see. Quite a satisfactory weekend and a nice chance for Shana and I to enjoy each other's company.

Tights are not pants.

A Book Recommendation

I've been scratching my head in confusion and despair over the support the American working class has been giving the GOP.  It makes no sense to me at all. I grew up in a respectable working class family and know for a fact that working class people are not more stupid than anyone else.  I could not understand how otherwise sensible people could fail to see how they were hurting themselves with every kind of information available in print and on the Internet. One book I read that gave me a little insight was What's the Matter With Kansas? .  It didn't answer all my questions, or resonate with my personal experience of the working class.  Then I became acquainted with Joe Bageant through his blog.  Joe Bageant died this year, but the articles on his blog survive, and I am currently tearing through one of his books: Deer Hunting With Jesus .  This book explains it in a way I can understand, and that means something to me.  I recommend it.;  I wish every liberal would read it.

The pictures don't have anything to do with the book, but everything to do with the issues of class war that the book addresses.  These were taken in the bus terminal at Boston's South Station.  Public transportation is one of those things that the congress does not like to address in any serious way.  I think it's seen as a poor people's issue and is therefore of no interest to the rich and powerful.  It's probably more than that -  low wage people who have access to good public transportation don't have to buy cars (on credit) or gasoline, for one thing.

Buy Me Some Peanuts and Cracker Jack

Yesterday Shana and I accompanied Bruce and Lisa to a Red Sox game.  The Red Sox have a rather small stadium right in town that fills up for every game.  The famous  Green Monster features a manual scoreboard; both National League scores and American league scores are updated manually on the board.  The weather favored us - early in the morning I rose to light rain and 40 mph winds, but it cleared up to be cool and breezy for the game.

I had always been of the opinion that the only thing more boring than baseball on TV was baseball in person.  I officially back down from that position.  I had a really good time and will gladly go again.  It does not hurt that we had really good seats and that the Sox won 8-1 over Toronto.

After the game we met up with a friend who was running in today's Boston Marathon and her family for dinner at Grotto .  It was a good meal (I continued my obsession with scallops!) with great conversation, and we all had a good time.  Laura ended up with a great time of 3:33:38, a personal best which was also good enough to qualify her automatically for next year.  Congratulations, Laura!!



Next week we'll be in Boston again to celebrate my birthday.  The Museum of Fine Art has an exhibition of the glass art of Dale Chihuly that I am really stoked about seeing.  We'll also have an Indian meal with the spicy cuisine I am craving and a bit of sightseeing and light shopping. I have a mad craving for a jar of foot cream from Lush, a wild extravagance I am determined to indulge.

I Love The Chicken Police

YouTube - Chicken Police?: Chickens AND bunnies, what could be better? I know, I should be doing better things with my time but it's hard to think of anything that could be better than watching the Chicken Police!
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Cute Roulette

For an endless random selection of amazing cuteness go here: Cute Roulette: Cutest videos on the web

It's Not What You Think

IMG_2384.jpg, originally uploaded by cinderellenk.

This looks like an adorable little dog but it's actually a picture of Old Scratch.

Gifts in the Mail

IMG_2775.jpg, originally uploaded by cinderellenk.

I was the lucky winner of four (!) beautiful craft books in a comment contest on Kirstin Nicholas' blog! They came in yesterday but of course because our mailbox is on the street I had to come back today to pick them up. I could hardly wait to see them! Since my craft books are all in storage I am so happy to see these I can hardly contain my pleasure.

Right now I am at the local 'Bux, giving a prospective caregiver an introductory afternoon with Bruce. I am supposed to be looking around online for rentals closer to Shana's work, but of course I am blogging ang crowing over my score.

A Rainy Day in Harwich Port

With a promise of good weather I made my plans for a free Monday to drive over to Harwich port to enjoy a tourist afternoon. My sense of direction on The Cape is nonexistent, so I am trying to plan some outings for myself to get a better sense of where to go. It should be easy, because there are only a very few main roads. Unfortunately the ones that exist are oddly labeled. 28, which basically goes East to West, is labeled North or South. There is water on both sides, not even counting the ponds, and the roads are windy and rolling so I can't see far enough ahead to get a little clue. I know I drove the person behind me on the way to our storage unit mad because I was going too slow trying not to miss my turn. I relied on the Google Maps on my phone, and I admit to a fair amount of turning around.  

First I ran my errands - shipping some boxes out of state and returning some boxes to our storage unit. I went to Petco to pick up some food for Roxy. Then I was free to drive out to Harwich Port with an idea that I would like to walk around near the docks and the beach and check out some of the shops.  Sadly, the weather stayed grey with mist and light rain.  The promised temperatures in the 70s did not materialize, nor did the sun.  A lot of the shops and restaurants were still closed for the season, but the town is pretty and I was able to do a little sightseeing and some shopping.

Dr. Gravity's Kite Shop had some wonderful and fun things, including (obviously!) some really beautiful kites.  The kites, and loads of other things, are also available online.

I also visited  Adventures in Knitting, which had been described to me as stocking mostly interesting and luxury yarns.  It did not disappoint. They stock a lot of Frogtree alpaca in some beautiful colors.  I picked up a few skeins in a beautiful nearly solid peach on clearance to add to my winter accessory stock and an interesting zuberball to replace the socks I ended up (with regret) passing along as a Christmas present last year.

Woods Hole

Woods Hole, originally uploaded by cinderellenk.

Sunday Shana and I had the day free to go for an afternoon drive. We chose to go to Landfall Woods Hole for lunch, then out to a movie. It was a little too cool to sit outside for lunch, but otherwise a perfect day

Cape Cod Pond in the Morning

Cape Cod Pond in the morning, originally uploaded by cinderellenk.

Between the inconvenience of tethering two dogs in the same area and Mitzi's intense need for exercise I spend a lot of time walking dogs. I spend at least an hour and a half every day walking. My compensation, aside from well behaved dogs, is that I see lots of pretty things.

A Shoe for Every Foot

Starting last winter when I was seriously preparing for our move to the east coast I spent a lot of time considering what kind of footwear I would need for my new climate conditions.  I displaced a lot of my anxiety about the move onto my footwear.  Today I ran across this video, which reminds me of Saturday Night Fever in its aspirational dancing and attention to appearance. Evidently there is a boot for every taste!

Of Great Interest to Me (and no one else)

I've recently moved from what is essentially desert to a marine climate. Not only does Massachusetts get more rain than Oklahoma City, but it comes in a different form.  Oklahoma generally gets all it's rain in the form of thunderstorms and torrential but rather brief rains.  Massachusetts gets the dreaded all day gray and moderate rain.  In Oklahoma I never bothered to purchase anything but travel umbrellas to get me from the car to a building (nearly) dry. Here I need to walk more in worse weather, so rain boots are needed.  The first pair I bought ended up being too small, so I sent the to Jennifer who has the same problem of climate change.  This is my second pair, and I have a hot pink umbrella in the shape of a giant flower ordered to give me a lift when the gray days come.

The dogs are getting along pretty well.  Mitzi still thinks the best way to interact with other dogs is to throw herself at their heads, but she's taking Roxy's lead in most things.  I must confess that Roxy did show her all the teeth once early on, but she has not had to do that again!

Not to Offend Anyone in Particular

I was just watching one of the popular morning shows and one segment featured a very pretty woman with a pleasant voice singing a song which was obviously of her own invention.  There was something in this song I just have to mention.  Recently I have noticed a lot of vocal music clearly composed by the singer which has no discernible tune whatsoever and rambling whiny lyrics.  The singers always seem very proud of these works and I wonder if it's the natural result of the reckless boosting of children's self-esteem.  At some point someone needed to say "try again", or "good try, see if you can do it better".  It's true:  I have turned into a curmudgeon.