SWEET DREAMS ARE NOT MADE OF THIS, LEMME TELL YOU


On Saturday night I had a dream that I was trying to get to the Golden Earring* concert, but something kept me from getting there (I don’t remember what it was now, but I was really pissed off at the time). Meanwhile, my dream flashed to the concert, where Golden Earring was playing “Don’t Shed a Tear”, which everyone** knows is a Paul Carrack song.

There is so very much that is wrong with that. I don’t have the time or energy right now to properly pick it apart (I will leave that in your capable hands), but it all goes to show that I should be banned from dreaming from now on.

*Go ahead. Ask me if I can name even one Golden Earring song.

**everyone = me and The Man


WHAT THE WORLD NEEDS NOW IS … ANOTHER DINOSAUR GEEK


About a week ago (and I apologize if I’ve already told you this story, but it makes me so fricking happy I had to repeat it one more time), I said something to The Baby about being a bad guy, resulting in The Baby cracking the following beautifully geeky joke:

BABY: You’re not a guy
HELENA: Oh? What am I then? Am I a lady?
BABY: No.
HELENA: Am I a gal?
BABY: No.
HELENA: Am I a woman?
BABY: No.
HELENA: Well, what am I, then?
BABY: Haplocanthosaurus!
HELENA AND BABY: Howls of laughter.

This is so much better than the age where all of their jokes are about poop and boogers.


SIX (long) YEARS


Last Saturday was our wedding anniversary. I thought about being miffed that the week had kicked both of our asses*** and neither of us had managed to make any plans, but what good would that have done, really?

We agreed that the first year was good, this last year was good and pretty much everything in between was crappy and/or stressful. And yet we still like each other. A lot.

So to celebrate getting through all of that crap with our love and adoration for one another still intact, we took ourselves to a “Summer Solstice Festival” that involved not so much pagan ritual as sampling local wines and listening to blues music. We found some really good wines and some totally unremarkable ones. Our favorite by far was called Red Kiss – it tastes like red wine and chocolate conveniently combined in one glass. Um, yes please.

And it turned out to be a really great day. After the week we’d had, drinking wine and walking around looking at art and other assorted stuff was the perfect thing.

When we got home we watched The Legend of Zorro on cable (one of the few times we have actually watched a movie since bringing home Baby) and even though there were so very many things that were wrong with it, ultimately you had two gorgeous people brandishing swords and occasionally kissing (I don't mean me and my husband - although that came later), and what could be wrong with that?

So, thanks, The Man, for sticking with me. For being everything I need. For still looking at me like that. And, thanks in advance for the neck massage tonight.

***I will spare you the boring details, but I figured out that from Friday to Friday I drove approximately 1200 miles. And I didn’t even leave the state. I was in the same three counties the whole time, shuttling kids around and doing my part to make sure the oil company CEOs are doing OK. And my car stinks now like you would not believe.



Reading:
Oh, you are a funny one, aren't you?

Hearing:
Diana Krall

Playing:
Friday night I sat in the backyard and played Vivaldi on my mandolin, while drinking a glass of red wine. I don't know when I have ever felt so Italian.

I also took a few minutes last week to start working on a violin part for Led Zeppelin's "The Ocean" - you know, so I'll be ready for that band we're going to have to start eventually. I even broke a bow hair. That's how you know you're really into it. What can I say? I rocked.

Needing:
Not this headache, that's for sure.

In My Car:
Chuck Palahniuk - Stranger than Fiction

It's a collection of essays that is so far very entertaining. I also recently finished a Lewis Black standup CD and one of David Sedaris reading his stories at Carnegie Hall. I completely loved it. I am still chuckling to myself a few days later. Please get this from your local library.