Propogation of Pothos

Pam told me the that Pothos can break through stones if left untended... Lately my bedroom has started to look like something out of Jumanji. I have vines trailing everywhere from my two plants. The one at the foot of my bed has a tangle of vines spilling down the pot and twisting into a remarkable mass of leaves all over the carpet. What I only recently realized was how it was starting to shoot up between the wall and my heating register... in three places... in its efforts to get through it was starting to push the register away from the wall and one can see the strain on the screws in the spots where it succeeded.

A few days ago I noticed a vine where once there was none... about 6 feet from the plant .... maybe 8. The new vine was headed for my dresser. I decided I needed to learn how to give my plants a haircut.

Now they are trimmed and I have a ton of clippings all sitting in my window waiting to take root. I rather like the effect. I might need to get a long window box to fit that space and see if I can get a lovely waterfall of vines down from my window.

New Shows, No Time... Car Shopping Sucks

I love the first week of the new fall shows on Primetime. I wait for it all summer. But this week I didn't get to watch much of anything because I was out looking at cars every single day after work. Sigh. Thank goodness for the DVR.

Sunday I peered in windows and jotted down notes off the window stickers at Honda/Nissan, Toyota, Subaru, and at a couple used car lots.

Monday it was internet research on the cars I looked at on the lots on Sunday.

Scion xD

Tuesday I test drove a 2007 Toyota Prius and the Toyota Corolla and looked at the Scion xD.Honda Civic

Wednesday I test drove a 2008 Honda Civic, 2008 Nissan Sentra, and a 2007 Versa.

Toyota Prius

Thursday I test drove the 2007 Prius again since we were only able to go around the block on Tuesday... because it was low on gas. This time I asked for a different sales person because in addition to Thomas's "reluctance" to let us try out the cars, he didn't offer to PUT GAS IN the Prius so we could drive it on the highway which was obviously a big deal to me. In fact, on Thurs. I called ahead to "make sure there is gas in the vehicle" when we stop in to test drive. Guess what? No gas. Seriously. Our new salesman, Mike, didn't seem to remember anything I said on the phone earlier or notice the gas situation until we were out on the interstate and the low fuel light started flashing. Arghhh.... I am getting the distinct impression these men aren't interested in selling me this car. Thus, I have decided that if I do get a Prius I will go with a 2008 and buy it in Devils Lake.

Honda Fit

Friday I test drove a 2008 Honda Fit, a 2008 Honda Accord, and then the Nissan Altima. I would have purchased the Nissan Altima right then and there if they'd have had the right vehicle in stock. All the models they had there were loaded with extras that jacked up the price and they were things I didn't want. However, they had 2.9% financing and a really great glove compartment... oh and round taillights and dual exhaust.... So, it was tough. In the end, I didn't end up with an Altima and after more time with my consumer reports and online looking for problems with the Altimas I found some. I discovered a LOT of people with complaints and that freaked me out. The main thing I am looking for is a vehicle that won't break down. Or at least has a much lower chance of problems.

Nissan Altima

Of all the cars the Prius and the Altima were my favorites. I would probably like the 08 Civic were it not for that ridiculous split dash that looks just dumb. And the 08 Accord has a rather unattractive control panel too. Seriously dumb reasons to not want a car... but they aren't CHEAP either. The Altima drove the same as the Accord if not better and the interior was just right. When it came to size the Camry was too big, the Corolla was too small... but the Prius... ahhh the Prius was just right. This Goldilocks wants one of those! But the one major drawback on them is the price and lack of any specials. I'm as confused as ever and no closer to getting a car.

"Are you absolutely crazy? There isn't anything I can't do." --Edie Beale

About a year ago I caught a snippet of NPR's morning edition and heard about the criterion collection release of Grey Gardens. I'd never heard of the documentary before, so when they played excerpts from it on the program and I heard the voices of Big Edie and Little Edie for the first time, I was intrigued. You can listen to that program here.

The controversial 1975 film, directed by the Maysles brothers, who also did the Rolling Stones documentary Gimme Shelter, peers into the lives of two of Jackie Onassis' cousins: Big Edie, age 78 and Little Edie, 56. Their East Hampton mansion Grey Gardens lends its name to the film. In some ways the house is almost a character in the film... from the fire started by the hot copper pipes to the raccoons that invade the attic. This film is incredible. At first I was amused. Entertained by this wildly eccentric mother-daughter duo. Then I was impressed by Edie's frequent "costume changes." Next I was struck by her beauty as a young woman and wondered what she was really like at that age, as the Beales displayed photos from the past for the camera telling stories and memories.

A couple years before the documentary was filmed, the Beales received a great deal of unwelcome publicity when they were "raided" by the Suffolk County Health Department who discovered that it violated every known building regulation. This event had a traumatizing effect on Big Edie and was frequently referred to by Little Edie in the documentary. Interestingly nothing much happens in the documentary and yet I couldn't pull my eyes away from the screen. I found the subtitles immensely helpful in understanding the overlapping dialogue often being shouted from room to room by mother and daughter. Day in and day out, the Maysles captured the women sunbathing, eating ice cream, playing records and dancing, singing acapella, spouting off views on everything from horoscopes to politics, hanging out with Jerry, reminiscing about the old days, feeding the cats and sometimes the raccoons, and on the Beales of Grey Gardens DVD, one can hear more of the interactions with the Maysles.

There were moments where I believed both of the women to be totally unbalanced and crazier than a coot. Moments where I wanted to laugh out loud at the ridiculous comments or outfits or behaviors of Little Edie, for example. But then there were moments when I believed Edie was more "with it" and truly as "progressive" as she believed she was. Ultimately, the Maysles succeeded in making me fall in love with these unusual, beautiful women--these rare and special creatures unashamed and unafraid of just living life on their own terms.

I loved this film and was thrilled to have another 90 minutes of footage to watch after my first serving. When I mailed this back to Netflix I immediately had to order the DVDs from Amazon for my collection. I understand there is an HBO movie in the works with Drew Barrymore and Jessica Lange attached to it. I'm not sure how I feel about it. I sense that it could be a big fat failure. I'm rather curious how the musical is working out. Maybe one day I'll get to see it. I would recommend the Grey Gardens documentary without hesitation. Of course, it may not be for everyone and truly it's hard for me to even capture the magic of the film in words.

You can read an essay on their official fan site here.

This fan site has a lot of images.

Rock 'N' Roll

Tonight at about 8:30 I passed the infamous kidney stone. Woo hoo! It was pretty uneventful really. I had the stint taken out after school and it was far more painful than they said it would be. I am thankful for my relatively good health. I cannot imagine spending any more time at clinics and in the ER and in doctor's office or having "procedures" done. The doc said the removal of the stint might cause the stone to pop into the bladder and wouldn't you know, he was right. So, the stone is now being examined to try to determine what is causing my kidneys to be full of them.

Stop Planetary Discrimination!

I found this tee shirt site full of terrific shirts in support of Pluto. I love the little planet, myself. I was just so impressed to discover I could buy a shirt showing my love, and that I'd have a CHOICE. I particularly like the Heidi Klum spoof... "Pluto, one day you're in, the next day you're out. Auf Wiedersehn"

In Case You Have Nothing Better to Do

You can learn how to write your name in Elvish in 10 minutes! Check out the instructional website here. You'll find an Elvish alphabet and an explanation of how it works.

That is Robert.

This is Eileen.

Goodbye to the Best Croissants in Town.

In addition to the other dramas of the past week, I've been dealt one more crushing blow. My grocery store is closing. I am sure I'll survive, and I will admit that I do tend to shop at more than one store (see it's probably my fault!). Still, it is hard to see a staple in my community fall... and even worse fall to the Walmart Superstore. Until a few months ago, Leevers was 24 hours and I was ever glad for that when I suddenly needed some essential ingredient at 12:15 am. When that change happened I began to grow nervous. Now, they are closing for real. Selling off their inventory. Not restocking as it sells and the store is looking more and more empty. I've lived at a lot of different addresses here over the years and four of them were best served by that store. Maybe if we could get a Trader Joe's or a Whole Foods grocery I wouldn't feel so bad, but then that would hurt our local food co-op. Sigh.

So before the store is gone or the croissnt supplies run out, I plan to stop every morning and enjoy my very favorite breakfast before it's gone forever. Good-bye Leevers, we love you!

Oooh Goody, Car Shopping...

... says my colleague today when I announce in the staff lounge the final word on my car. Totaled. The other guy's insurance company has decided. Oh, I'm sorry? Didn't I mention... while I was bent over double with pain last week, haggling with the man formerly known as my primary doctor over whether or not my excruciating pain on the left side of my back was or was not kidney related. Later, my mother, an RN, asked me to indicate exactly WHERE the pain was and as I showed her she shook her head and said "well I can see where the confusion was... since the spot where it hurts is EXACTLY where your kidney is!" Sigh.

Oops. Digression.

As I was saying, my car was in an accident last week. I was not in my car. Apparently this was a very good thing. It went down a bit like this.

1. I ran out of gas. (I know, I know... damn those gas prices... I really thought I could make it)

2. I coasted my car to the far edge of the lane, put on my hazards, stepped out of the car.

3. I stood on the side of the street for a minute trying to decide if I could find someone to help me push it up to the nearest street to get it off the main road... Then when no one seemed readily available I opted to start walking to the gas station a block away.

4. I took about 5 steps.

5. Someone apologetic college boy, "looking down for just a second" hit my car and propelled it forward into a street sign.

6. Police are summoned.

7. He is cited.

8. Cars are towed.

9. 48 hours later I am finally told his insurance will pay for a rental. Unfortunately I am in the emergency room--kidney crisis-- when they contact me. I get one the next day.

10. One week later, I find out the adjuster finally saw my car and declared time of death.

It hurts me to see my car end up this way. We've been through a lot together. I loved her and I hated her.

I've known for some time that I needed to consider a new car... I am just dreading the whole process. I have a car curse and I'm afraid of the commitment. The pressure of all that money.
And everyone's got an opinion... a suggestion. People are volunteering to go shopping with me. Should I buy new or used? I've always bought used. Now I think for the first time ever, I'll be buying new. To take advantage of any deals with percentage rates (please let there be deals) and to get a nice long factory warranty. Are there any that actually are 10 year warranties? Or is that just a myth? And do I buy a new 2007 (which might have a deal) or get a brand spanking new 2008, which are just rolling out?

I am driving a 2007 Toyota Camry rental and I'm not crazy about it. And it's hard to explain why. I think the dashboard is ugly. My water bottle doesn't fit in the cup holders. I find the console compartments inconvenient. It looks big on the outside. Which is a total contradiction since I say I don't mind big, I like roominess. The trunk space is good. However, the worst is that I find I have trouble with blind spots in reversing. To back up. I have to rely on the mirrors. That makes me uncomfortable. I actually cannot see what is behind me when I back up... it's like the headrest is obstructing my view and I nearly get a neck spasm trying to make it work. That just seems totally wrong. So I guess that's one car I won't get. I wish I could rent a few others just to try each of them for a few days. That would be so much easier. Feel free to suggest cars or tips. Please don't be hurt if I don't follow your advice or tips.

When It Rains, It Pours....

... or Should I Say.... When I Pee, it Hurts!

It turns out I have a kidney stone in motion (that almost sounds like a song title).... And based on the ultrasound and CT scan both my kidneys are riddled with them... The urologist actually referred to my kidneys as gravelly! Supposedly this is a genetic condition, one I may have had since birth. Ugh. Not only did I inherit a questionable nose, but now I have faulty kidneys. Thanks, dad.

All week, I've been doctoring with this lower left side pain that started last Saturday night after a my friend Tara's bachelorette party. I was afraid I'd done some damage by drinking more than usual... but that doesn't seem to be the explanation. Both docs I saw first thought I had a strained muscle and maybe a touch of the flu... but after my second urine analysis they decided to do an ultrasound. That was on Wednesday.

Thursday was my worst day of all. I woke to pain... constant, barely-able-to-walk pain that lasted 3 hours until I took an ill-advised pain medication... Lorset also known as Vicodin. This drug is completely and utterly evil. I was WORSE off from the pain medicine than I was from the back pain. Eventually my mom brought me to ER where I hung out with an IV and four more kinds of medications (none which made nauseated, thank goodness). I was there for several hours before my appointment with the urologist. And following that appointment I had a procedure in out patient surgery in which my doctor went in and tried to retrieve the stone and implanted a stint between my bladder and kidney... too much information? Sorry.

I'm feeling much better now... trying to sleep off the anesthesia from last night and enjoying the fun process of straining my urine, mining for "gold" you might say! The good news is my back isn't hurting right now. They say it can take between 2 days and 4 weeks for a stone to pass, but my doc isn't willing to wait that long and so in a week if it's still there they'll try one of three procedures... something involving an instrument that looks like an apple picker, or a laser, or some kind of litho machine if all else fails.

Keep your fingers crossed that this will all be over soon, and maybe without another procedure. Stay hydrated, kids!

Wonderful!

I am in love with this sweater... it looks a bit ambitious for me to knit... maybe I could just BUY one. Here's the blog entry where "Practical Polly" made the magic happen. And here's a tutorial on craftster.

An Excuse

Dear Reader,

Please excuse Carmyn from blogging this week, as she's experiencing level 7-9 pain in her lower back and is spending time flitting between Urgent Care and the doc and now the radiologists... oh and working too... or trying to.

With any luck before long, she'll be back to boogie-ing and blogging with the best of them.

--Norma (her mother)

(I always was pretty good at forging those notes! tee hee. -C.)

I Heart Wes Anderson!

And so I'm super excited to see that his latest venture is due out on November 23rd.

Check out the trailer at the official website.

You can also soak up some other great Wes Anderson goodies at this site.

Reading Watching, Listening..... August in Review

What I Was Reading in August

Shopaholic and Baby by Sophie Kinsella
Hood by Stephen Lawhead
Plum Lovin' by Janet Evanovich
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder

The first two titles listed were both audiobooks and I'm trying to get back into the habit of listening to them. I find I can do other things with my hands and time and STILL manage to get some reading done. Hood was meant to be a book for Emma and I and our roadtrip, but we only made it about halfway through the story and I'm still languishing somewhere in the middle. It's okay, not too gripping... so I guess it wasn't the best choice for the road. Shopaholic on the other hand was pretty funny. I listened to some of it on the plane on my ride home and I finished it up while cleaning house and doing laundry and ironing, etc. I think I could maybe exercise to some books.

Plum Lovin' is a "between the numbers" Stephanie Plum book. It's almost too thin of a book to be truly good. Though it's a bit like a yummy dessert in between a whole lot of fiber. Like most Stephanie Plum books, it left me wondering what it would be like to have a Joe Morelli, Tank, or Ranger hanging around steaming up the place. Hmmmm...

Sophie's World represents the fiber in my reading diet this month. We chose this one for book club since it was one nearly every one of us had on the shelf but had never read. It's meant to be a novel and also a "history of philosophy." The premise is cool. The information is good but slow going. The story is a bit bizarre. I know how it ends since we've already met for our discussion, but I'm still plugging away on it. I'm about halfway there.

The Harry Potter books read much faster than number five. In fact, we could probably blame my lack of completion on Sophie's World to these titles. I'm satisfied with how it all ended. That's all I will say. No spoilers here.

What I Was Watching in August

TV series on DVD
MI-5

On DVD
The Astronaut Farmer
Bobby
The Last Sin Eater
300
Sleuth

In the Theatre
Hairspray
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Becoming Jane
Stardust

August is always a busy month and this one was no exception. My Netflix account was barely worth having this month since I wasn't able to watch very many films at all. I did get to watch the first episode of MI-5, per Emma's suggestion. It's a bit like a British Alias. Only without the crazy costumes. So far. I've only seen the first episode and I'm looking forward to more. I watched it using the Netflix 'get it now' program which allowed me to watch it right on my computer.

The Astronaut Farmer is the Billy Bob Thorton film about a man determined to launch a rocket from his own farm. It was a bit nuts, and if anything it was about family and faith and trust in each other. Bobby, I loved. It tells the story of an all-star cast full of fictional people during the time leading up to the assassination of Bobby Kennedy at the Ambassador Hotel. 300 was a disappointment. Far too much violence and not nearly enough inspiration. I didn't realize it was another "graphic novel made movie." I hated Sin City, so I guess I was warned. I just didn't pay attention. The Last Sin Eater is a Christian film based on a book by Francine Rivers that I read and enjoyed a number of years ago. It's about a Welsh settlement, set in the Appalachians, who believe they need to honor the old custom of having a "sin eater" who takes away the sins of the people when they die. Michael Caine is remaking Sleuth with Jude Law and it's due out this year, I believe. In the original which I just watched Lawrence Olivier plays the eccentric mystery writer and Michael Caine, the young man who is sleeping with Olivier's wife. It's based on a hit play that features only two actors and many twists in the plot. It was okay. Somewhat creepy with all the dolls. I am curious how it will be redone. I am a bit more curious as to WHY?

This month was my last desperate attempt to cram in some trips to the theatre before summer was over. I was disappointed by the Harry Potter film, possibly because they left out things I would have included and it was an impossible task of including everything considering the book is nearly 1000 pages long of something like that.

Emma and I saw Becoming Jane in at the Colossus in Langley, B.C. I enjoyed it, but I typically enjoy anything related to Pride and Prejudice. Though I am rarely a fan of the attempt at "aging" the characters for the ending. It's just never very well done.

I already wrote about my love of Hairspray and see it you must! Now I just need to see the Broadway production.

Stardust got iffy reviews and so it was one Emma and I passed over for that reason. Still, Pam persisted and we ventured out to see that a few weeks ago. I rather enjoyed the playful fantastical romp it was. It reminded me of The Princess Bride and Time Bandits and yet it wasn't quite on that level. I did think, perhaps if I'd never seen those films and was encountering this one as a young person for the first time it might actually become that sort of movie for me with all the love a childhood favorite deserves. I'd recommend a rent, at least!

What I Was Listening to in August

Well, immediately after watching Hairspray I went to the library looking for the soundtrack. I found the original Broadway recording and enjoyed that version until I could get my hands on the movie soundtrack which appeared to be sold out everywhere I looked. I love the music in this musical... It's much like Mamma Mia, music that demands a sing-a-long.

I also picked up a copy of Those the Brokes, the newer CD by The Magic Numbers. The jury is still out on this one. I loved the first cd so much that I think, it's a bit unfair to the new album... More on this late, I'm sure.

My Chemical Romance has been romancing me all month. I've decided I like nearly every single song on the CD, but that didn't prevent me from incorrectly identifying one of their songs at trivia last week.

a random sampling from my MP3 player
here are my posted shuffles:

August 2
If you Leave Me Now by Chicago

Is This the Way to Amarillo by Tony Christie

Ob-La-Di, Ob-La Da by The Beatles

Hot Child in the City by Nick Gilder

Never Going Back Again by Fleetwood Mac

-----------------------------------

August 24

Black Horse and a Cherry Tree by KT Tunstall

Every Breath You Take by The Police

I'll Take You There by The Staple Singers

Girlfriend by Avril Lavigne

Modern Girl by Sleater-Kinney

A Sweet Tribute

When I was visiting Cindy and George in Montana, I noticed this cool blackboard she had on display. I guess it's one her dad saved from a country school back in North Dakota. On the blackboard she chalked my grandma's chocolate chip cookie recipe... because it's one she uses so often. It made my eyes shine just a bit and my heart panged too, to read that. I love that my grandma continues to touch lives, one cookie at a time. What a wonderful thing to see hanging in my friend's kitchen.

Good Advice.

My calendar quote for September.