Gin from the Cat Dish

I am one sibling away from a family reunion--and he gets here Monday. I've been cooking and cleaning and doing all those things people do when expecting a full house. Hence, my blog absence. I was going to write a blog about a little tiny field mouse coming into my room and scaring the holy bejeezus out of me, but I decided against it. I mean who needs to relive that ? Talking to my friend Basil, he very nicely asked me what it felt like to be afraid of mice--what was it that I was actually afraid they might do. "I don't know, Basil, but something really really bad...like crawl on me or something." We've been playing kickball every evening after dinner since Jen, Paul and their girls got here. It's been so much fun. When I explained to the girls how to play I told them that if they ever get out they should shake their fist in a "J" and say, " Awh nuts!" Fiona caught on right away, but Sinead was a little hesitant about it. I think, becau...

My beans are growing! I feel just so proud of them. Just for waking up and growing! It reminds me of this conversation I had with Nate awhile back where he and I were commenting on how little it took for Dad to say he was proud of us. "I'm so proud of you, Nate, you got up this morning and...I'm just so proud." Or sometimes it would be in the middle of a conversation and though it was always nice to hear, inside I was always wondering "Could you be a little more specific? But now, I'm seeing how proud a person can be just for having something that's still around. My beans haven't given me anything to eat, yet, but I love them just the same. They are leaning to the right because there's not enough light, but i just moved them closer to the window so hopefully they will straighten up. Not that I'm judging--they can choose to go in any direction they want. My Grandpa Lindgren commented on my 6 year old niece, Fiona's chance of being a tree-...

Sometimes I sleep on one of my hands and when I wake up it is still asleep. Yesterday morning was such a morning and when I tried to turn my bedside light off--yes, I'm afraid of the dark--my hand was so asleep I couldn't tell what I was doing. I might as well have been using a cheese grater to turn the thing off. It's feeling a little better now, but not completely awake--kind of like my parents after 8pm. But the reason I got up so early yesterday because I WAS GOING TO WORK! WOOT! Friday after my body had gotten up, my brain felt like it had maybe decided to go jump in the toilet and push the flush lever a few times. I got my coffee and went and sat by mom who told me she had found me a job if i wanted it and that we could go right now. All I could think was that I should probably go fish my brain out of the toilet for this conversation. When it was put back in it's proper place (a place it seems to be constantly trying to make a break from), it finally sunk in that ...

Dear University of Washington in Seattle, I just wanted to thank you for opening the world up for me in new and enlightening ways. Some of your requirements like 3 levels of foreign language was tough, but I'm more enriched because of it. I can understand "We're not hiring" in two languages! But now that I am out of that frolicking pretend world, I am excited and optimistic as I look the Real World in the eye. Finding a job, I'm sure, will be a breeze with the education you have provided. Except, and I hate to whine here, I have been having troubles finding a job. Even the grocery store used my application for confetti for their next party. What gives? I guess I wouldn't be so apprehensive if I hadn't taken that statistics class. Before I would have just called it "the pits" or "a dirty dog of a deal" but now I know exactly how deplorable my success rate has been! Maybe my Modern Novel professor was right, we are all just a bunch of a...

Today started out fine, mostly good even. I did my routine search for jobs, applied where I could and then exercised. I was feeling optimistic and even a little fantastic. According to my latest accounting I have 10 days before I have to melt down. It was like one of those movie moments where the detective feels so good at closing the case. But then they look around and their eye focuses on something, a piece of paper maybe or there's a meaningful flashback...and then *BAM they got it! They were wrong! And they have to hurry before their partner/love interest is murdered by the real criminal (or even worse, their partner/love interest IS the murderer!!)! They rush from their desk and save the next victim just in time. Well my life is something like that. At least the part where I looked down at my phone and I realized my latest accounting hadn't included my phone bill--yes, that is how close we are to melt down that my phone bill could push the whole thing over the edge. So I r...