KatrinB's Journal

This occurred to me, and I had to write it down.

katrinb — Tue, 11 Mar 2014 01:34:36 GMT

TTTO "Totem"

I've got a sacred bathhouse and a big fat child
House full of Kami, while your Daddy and Mommy
Pig out in my sty gone wild

It's a secret spirit hideaway, and my Circe spell
Keeps humans excluded, while rivers polluted
Are cleansed again inside my holy well

I'm the boss of what I see
All around me bow in fear
But I see that this young human might be more than she appears...

Strange and lovely creatures gather round my pool
While I keep your name you're mine to rule
Fearsome river dragons cannot pass that test
What makes you think, Sen, that you know best?

I've got spidery mechanics to keep my bathhouse warm
A bird with my features, frogs and soot-creatures
Servants of every shape and form

My baby is guarded by big green bouncy heads
Must keep him hidden, from guests that come unbidden
Like No-Face there, oh Gods just keep him fed...

That's why I deceive...

Devourers reveal you as a giver true
Dragons and demons will deliver you...

Sweet sister mine, come forth, redeem her...

katrinb — Sat, 23 Nov 2013 15:28:59 GMT

1. OK, if you're going to do the Norse universe, do it RIGHT. DARK DOES NOT EQUAL EVIL. THE SVARTALFIR ARE NOT EVIL. They are the craftsmen, the physical, earthy, underground elves, who balance the light, ethereal, Legolas-bishonen ljossalfir. They are sturdy folk who are practical and sensible and work for pay, not raving evil orcish monsters. Without them, Thor would not have Mjollnir or Freyja Brisingamen (and where ARE Freyja and Freyr in this universe?). Do NOT GO PLAYING IN OTHER PEOPLE'S MYTHOLOGY IF YOU DON'T WANT TO DO THE RESEARCH.
2. You can't kill a Goddess. OK, so she's not a goddess in this universe. You can't kill a Marvel character permanently, either.
3. Yes, Loki runs away with the movie. Amazing, how Tom Hiddleston can communicate with one small smirk...and oh, how Chris Evans was having fun with that little bit...
4. I actually wish Thor had come out with "Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal!" at the appropriate moment...but then, it would have given too much away.
5. Ah. So Thor, in an act of oathbreaking needed to save the universe from a raving monster, loses his arm (well, sort of). That rings some mythological bells in my mind - and explains why there's no Tyr in this universe, at least. I always did suspect the two deities came from similar mythic roots...
6. That "You can't kill a Marvel character permanently" bit? Applies doubly, no, trebly, to Loki. (And yes, I was thinking that at the time, not just at the end.)
7. Yes, Mr. Lee, you can have your shoe back.
8. Oh, look, _there's_ Loki. What a shocking surprise. (Not.) I wonder where Odin is. I bet he's cooperating. Or orchestrated the whole thing. (Remember, Odin is a Trickster God himself, and this way, his rebel son has a chance to redeem himself - while being forced to imitate his wiser and more restrained father - and his Lawful Good son has a chance to go out and do what he does best, protecting the Nine Worlds, without the burden of kingship...and Odin can retire and go find Frigga, wherever she has gone - where do you go when you die in Asgard? She died in battle, so not Hel's realm - or maybe?
9. Y'know, I'm mostly agnostic/humanist, but Thor is the one deity I can't let go of. Is it blasphemy, that now when I talk to my God, I'm picturing Chris Hemsworth with his shirt off? (It's certainly _appealing_.)

Thoughts on Much Ado About Nothing: Joss Whedon Version

katrinb — Sat, 13 Jul 2013 14:31:44 GMT

1. OK, I liked their Benedick well enough, but Nathan Fillion would have shown more intensity in the romantic parts, I think. Just sayin'.
2. Though Alexis Denisof gets a couple of things Very Right. You see the moment where he realizes he _can't_ stay neutral after Claudio's betrayal of Hero, where he chooses sides, when Beatrice is giving her "I cannot be a man with wishing, therefore I will die a woman with weeping" bit. There's a little squaring of the shoulders, a little, "OK, I've got to be a man and pick where I'm going to stand, and I pick Beatrice." The confrontation scene with Don Pedro and Claudio follows directly and precisely from that moment. (Too bad they left out the line at the end, "And since thou art like to be my kinsman, live unbruised." I like that line. It's their reconciliation.) Also, the bit at the final wedding, where he asks Beatrice, "Do you not love me?" there's a wonderful wounded-puppy vulnerability in his eyes, only resolved when they both get the love sonnets. He pouts beautifully.
3. Don John is much more subtle and vicious in this version. I like it.
4. And oh, what they've done to his henchmen (henchpeople?)! Yes, Conrade's a woman, and Don John's lover, but that's the least of it - it's Borachio's subtle thing for Hero that gives his part and his motivations a sudden depth that the play could use. Now we understand why he's so eager to break up her marriage to Claudio, why Margaret is willing to go along with him when he asks her to let him call her "Hero" (and we see her motivations, too, when she tells Benedick, "Should I stay belowstairs all my life?"), and why he's so remorseful as to confess himself fully to Leonato afterwards, when he hears his trick cost her life.
5. But that bit in the swimming pool with Claudio just had the Jaws theme going in my head...
6. Amy Acker is a marvelous Beatrice. You can see her love for Benedick making her vulnerable even through the tossed barbs, you can see her feeling of shocked betrayal when she overhears Hero talking about how proud and scornful she is, and how she doesn't deserve Benedick (perhaps a bit of jealousy on Hero's part of her prettier, wittier, showier cousin? But then, who is it again who stands up for Hero in her darkest hour when no one else will?), you can see her utter fury when even Leonato turns on Hero after Claudio and Don Pedro accuse her, and most of all, you can see her realizing, after Benedick agrees to challenge Claudio, that she may just be sending the man she loves to his death, but that it's the only thing in the world she can do to save her cousin. Beatrice is ruthless when it comes to her cousin - she willingly, knowingly, offers up Benedick (with his own cooperation, mind you) for Hero's sake. And yet there's no doubt she loves him. There must be one hell of a bond between the cousins, even if Hero can get a few digs in at her cousin's expense when she has a chance. (The pictures of the pair of them together scattered through the house, including one faint one of them as small children - Beatrice must have been orphaned very young - emphasize this beautifully.) I just wish they'd left in the bit in the beginning where the messenger says, wryly, "I would hold friends with you, good lady," and she responds cheerily, "Do, good friend!" which establishes that her barbs are only for Benedick, with whom she has Issues. And then the next line, too - "You will never run mad (i.e. "catch the Benedick"), niece." "No, not till a hot January!" They should have left those in, as they're important.
7. OK, Nathan Fillion makes an excellent Dogberry. He definitely feels his inferiority, in status and wit, to the more well-off characters, including Conrade and Borachio, and you can see him puffing himself up to compensate. It's beautiful. But I still want to see him as Benedick.
8. Their Don Pedro is far lighter, more casual, and less dignified than Denzel Washington (I don't think Denzel Washington can _do_ undignified...). Not sure I like that - he's the one whose testimony is supposed to give weight to Claudio's, and it's supposed to be a shock and a betrayal when Benedick says, "I must discontinue your company," a reversal between the pair who took love seriously and then shredded it, and the one who never took love seriously and now is willing to die for it. This Don Pedro never seems to take anything seriously for long.
9. Everyone in this movie needs to go to an AA meeting, now. There is a lot of alcohol floating around this movie...
10. Joss Whedon has a GORGEOUS house.

Thoughts on Man of Steel

katrinb — Sat, 15 Jun 2013 22:40:11 GMT

1. Mmm. Pretty men. And women.
2. Nice to see a shy, uncertain Clark Kent, wondering who he really is, instead of the Hero Whose Teeth Go Ting!
3. Also nice to see other people getting to act proactively and heroically, instead of having to wait around for Superman to do all the work. Jonathan Kent, the police, Lois, Parry White, Dr. Hamilton, Col. Hardy - they all have moments where THEY get to be the hero, too. (Admittedly, Lois's consists in passing on information from Jor-El to Superman, but it's _something_.)
4. "Welcome to The Planet." Hee. I always knew those glasses didn't fool her for a minute (granted, in this one, she's known who he is all along, but I suspect she always did).
5. No one used the phrase "plucky girl reporter"! We have made progress. Somewhat. On the other hand, no one used the phrase, "Kneel before Zod!" either, and I was so looking forward to that.
6. OK, OK, Jason, there's no reason Zod should have wanted Lois on the ship. But I could make up some...hostage for Kal-El's good behavior? Concubine to keep Kal-El amused while Zod Kryptoformed Earth? Carrier for a neo-Kryptonite breeding program? (The few Kryptonite women they had on board might not be enough to make more babies while they build the baby-garden they need?) Someone to keep Jor-El's ghost out of his hair for a while?
7. Love the little touches - the Lexcorp truck, the "XX days without an accident" sign that gets reset by Superman being flung into it, the moment when young Clark, having resisted fighting back against boys who were taunting him, lets go of the fence he's been clutching and you see the iron pole bent in the middle....

Reactions to Captain Vorpatril's Alliance, in no particular order

katrinb — Wed, 01 May 2013 23:30:25 GMT

1. Oh, Ivan, you chivalrous sweetheart. (Sounds better than Ivan-you-idiot, anyway.)
2. I like that he takes offense at the notion that he'd be less likely to come to the rescue of a homely girl than a pretty one.
3. "Maybe I should have started with the ponies" is going on my list of Best Come-ons Ever. (Though the one that makes me catch my breath is still, "So, so illuminate me...")
4. Gee, someone who feels like the normal, dull, ordinary one in a sparkling family, and hates it when her family keeps dragging her into danger. That sounds familiar...
5. I love seeing Miles through other people's eyes. Simon Illyan, too. (What the HELL, Simon? But he got what he dearly wanted out of this whole event - part of me wonders whether undermining hated architecture was part of his plan all along...)
6. I wish I'd been a fly on the wall for Lady Alys's conversation with Count Falco.
7. Poor Gregor. Mind you, I feel that a lot, reading this series. At least he has Laisa, and the utter loyalty of a number of close relatives who would rather cut off their own heads than see him come to harm (because then they might get his job...).
8. You know it's love when she's thinking she should have kept the box of instant groats as a souvenir, when she's fleeing for her life...
9. "Unhand Lady Vorpatril!" = something Ivan's waited all his life to declaim with appropriate force. I can just picture it.
10. "Ivan Xav is a gift." = something he's waited all his life to hear. Oh, so sweet!
11. Oh, such a hard exile. Gods grant us all such hard and painful exiles. With fruity girly drinks, too.

katrinb — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 12:46:43 GMT

A pair of sonnets. Because the Iliad is eating my brain again. And I was wondering whether in a post-feminist age, Hector and Penthesilea could have beaten back the entire Greek army together.

Helen is the fairest, so they say,
But darkness follows in her path, a trail
Of slaughtered babies, mothers sold away
As weeping slaves, men slain to no avail

But you - when you ride with your maiden band
Clean light flows in your wake, sweet, pure and clear
And when a flight of arrows leaves your hand
None but the cruel and vicious need take fear

Great-hearted Queen, with fury blazing bright
What gazelle could best you in a race?
When your eyes flash, the sun hides from the light
And when you fight, you shame the cat for grace.

Oh sister of the moon, maid without peer
What fool on Helen looks when you are near?

You armed yourself that day, went out alone
A man against half-god, fair Troy's last chance
If fear you felt, to no one was it shown
As you stepped out into that deadly dance

Andromache could only sit and weep
As your blood spilled, a sacrifice too dear
Troy watched, encased in agony too deep
To keen the mourning cry or loose a bitter tear

Brave Hector, reborn to a newer land
Take arms again, but not to lose your life
Nor stand alone, if you but give your hand
To fighting queen, not helpless weeping wife.

I'll stand at your back through each ordeal
And our shared strength shall find Achilles' heel.

katrinb — Sun, 16 Dec 2012 15:36:38 GMT

I love this.
http://now.msn.com/nasa-gangnam-style-parody-goes-viral

katrinb — Mon, 03 Dec 2012 11:43:23 GMT

Book Fair this evening! Yay!
BTW, for parents of girls afflicted with Fairy Princess Fetish Syndrome, I highly recommend Ian Falconer's "Olivia and the Fairy Princesses", in which Olivia complains that all her classmates only want to be princesses, fairies or ballerinas. Good lines: Olivia's mother: "You wanted to be a ballerina too." Olivia: "That was when I was little. *switch to page of Olivia trying various poses with black drapery* Now, I'm trying for a more stark, modern style." and "You know what they all wanted to be for Halloween?" "Princesses." "Princesses. *page turns* I went as a warthog. It was very effective." (princesses cowering in the corner) And then there's the bit where she complains that they all want to be only _fairy_ princesses - why not Indian princesses, Chinese princesses, African princesses? (poses in gorgeous costumes from each country...). It's a wonderful, wonderful antidote. I love Ian Falconer So Much. Especially after getting 10,000 requests for "Barbie: The Princess and the Popstar" from little girls.
There's also _Me: Jane_, which involves a little blond-haired girl growing up, observing chickens, dreaming about a future going to Africa to study animals..."and then, one day, she woke up...to a dream come true" *illustrations change from cartoon-little-girl to photograph of grown-up Jane Goodall touching hand of baby chimp* It's a lovely little book, too. And Jane Goodall is on my list of Most Admired People of All Time, so. (Also Jane Goodale, but as far as I know, there aren't any children's books about her. Sadly.)

katrinb — Thu, 25 Oct 2012 11:08:30 GMT

My son's school reading specialist gave me the best description of him yesterday: "He's a very tongue-in-cheek child. You have to bite the inside of your mouth a lot when talking to him."

I am amused.

katrinb — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 23:51:35 GMT

Bear was running around at the playground, playing hide-and-seek tag with some other kids, and ran smack into a pole, opening a big gash just above his right eye. It bled. Oh, gods, it bled. It looked just awful - it was so deep. (I was sick, it was so bad. Literally - shaking, dizzy, cold sweats, and once we got to the hospital and they could hand me a bedpan, I threw up. When I should have been supporting my son. Argh.) Had another lovely ambulance ride, which of course he hated at the top of his lungs and I hated just as much, but more quietly.

This time, went to Access of Springfield, where the kindly doctor informed us that, while it was riskier with respect to scars and re-opening. he could glue it together rather than stitch. Oh, blessed heavens, thank you! (His eyebrow will probably droop a bit for the rest of his life. But scars add character.) That wasn't as bad, nearly, as the stitches were last time, though we had to hold him down so the doc could clean it out (Jason arrived just as they were getting ready to do that, bless him).

And now he's got a big old bandage covering steri-strips covering the glued wound, and he must be kept quiet, out of the sun, and prevented from injuring it again for at least the next two weeks. Which means no Parents' Night Out tomorrow, no TKD Saturday, and unless they can keep him busy with quiet crafts, no circus camp next week (sob). And I have to keep an active, fit six-year-old boy with ADHD calm and quiet for two weeks. Wish me, um, luck, or something. Maybe my pediatrician can give me a tranquilizer dart gun? (I kid, I kid. Maybe.)

But everything is OK now, or at least better. Making dinner.

katrinb — Wed, 18 Jul 2012 01:48:57 GMT

Sigh. Cracked my phone's screen in a lovely little tree pattern today, when it fell on the floor while I was changing clothes at the swimming pool. New one, even without insurance, will cost $130. Just another expense, a week after spending about $1000 for a new bed and dresser set for Bear. Arrrgh.

He, meanwhile, though, is doing quite well - really enjoying his latest summer camp thing (fencing lessons - he likes the idea of playing with weapons and getting praised for it instead of scolded). Today, the second day of camp, they got out the foils and actually did some playful bouts with them- he was in ecstasy.

Then we went swimming, which is another source of Great Glee - he's recently been discovered to be a full four feet tall, and entitled thereby to use the big waterslides at Cub Run. There are two big-kids/grownup waterslides - one is taller than the other (three stories tall, as opposed to two), and enclosed, and snakes outside the building and back in, while the other is open and entirely inside. Last time he was there, he went down the smaller slide several dozen times, but was too nervous to try the bigger one - today, he got bold enough to try it, and promptly decided it was the Best Thing Ever. Spent 40 minutes on the thing. (I didn't mind - once my knees wouldn't take the stairs any more, I spent a while walking backwards in the lazy river for exercise, as I could see him just fine from where I was. Better, actually, than when we were both sliding, as he kept getting ahead of me and sliding down before I managed the stairs...the guards wouldn't let us go together, and he didn't want to anyway.) And we spent a good chunk of time playing Megaman (well, MegaSquirrel and PenguinAxel), and fighting off random enemies in the whirlpool (apparently, according to Bear, my main attack move consisted of going "mrrrrnnnnBoom!" and jumping up while holding my hands pointed downwards...also moving my pointed hands around calling "chitterchitterchitter" - I assume the guards just think I'm crazy, or that I'm the mother of a six-year-old, not that there's much difference there...).

katrinb — Mon, 16 Jul 2012 01:43:43 GMT

Well, it's been an expensive but pleasant weekend.
Saturday, took Rob into the city for a painting class at the LivingSocial event headquarters at 918 F St (nice place, that). Made ourselves a lovely canvas covered in a vivid blue-green jungle scene with colorful flowers and a Big Yellow Sun. Plus a strange-looking (but happy!) little tree and two tiny parrots that actually look more like seahorses, but that last was my fault. Got Rob a little painting kit to take home, as he wanted to paint another canvas, but this time with Daddy.

Then we walked down to the Air and Space museum and wandered all over while we waited for Jason to overcome Metro's obnoxiousness and join us. Rob had a grand old time pushing buttons and pulling levers (the original is way more fun than the Udvar-Hazy center, because there are many more interactive exhibits, with things to push and pull on...), identifying elemental spectra and looking at planes land from the replica air-traffic-control center of the Enterprise.

When Jason finally arrived (after a trip involving at least one shuttlebus, poor guy), we had lunch at Mitsitam, then he took Rob to the Spy Museum while I, in order to save the $20 for one adult admission, went to the Sackler and Freer instead. Had a grand old time roaming around looking at lovely intricate elegant Asian art. I don't get much solo museum time anymore, and it was wonderfully peaceful. (Not that I don't love my family's company, but it's hard to enjoy the art when I have to keep a constant weather eye out to make sure Rob isn't trying to use priceless artifacts as climbing toys, or playing "Ninja Megazord" with statues of deities, or trying to dive into the little pool at the base of the Sackler from the second story.)

Got caught in the rain, took refuge in Teaism, had a pot of tea (also a blissful self-indulgence), and when the rain let up, walked north, met up with my family, had dinner, took Jason to pick up his car, went home.

Today, we had brunch (I had a deal for Choices by Shawn in Fairfax - decent place, but they had a hard time actually keeping the buffet stocked, and it was near-to-half empty much of the time). Then we went to look at beds for Robbie (one that can fit rails, see, so that he can actually SLEEP on his bed instead of on the floor where he generally ends up even when he starts out on the bed, because he's wiggly). After surveying the contents of three stores, ended up actually buying a bed-dresser set on heavy sale, when we hadn't planned to, because the floor model was the last available, it was a nice set, Rob loved it, and it actually was about the same price as some of the solo beds there were, certainly not a bad price considering what we got. It's a good solid wood bed in a pine stain that he (hopefully) won't be embarrassed by when adolescence strikes, and includes a bookshelf headboard, a substantial amount of underbed storage drawer space, a 6-drawer dresser, and dresser mirror (the latter two will go where the diaper-changing table now is - btw, anyone want a diaper-changing table or toddler bed, particularly anyone willing to haul them away? If not, I'm sure I can find a kids' charity to take them, but I'd rather help a friend if anyone needs 'em). Spent quite a chunk of money, but it was in fact worth it, I think. With luck, this bed should last him until college...and the only other thing we'll need to change for his room is probably to replace his old dresser with a desk, but we can wait on that one.

katrinb — Mon, 16 Jul 2012 01:21:52 GMT

Aaand...my second effort. (Incidentally, my favorite song from the musical, for the courage it takes Anita to move from (completely understandable, you know) rage to acceptance, hatred to concern for her friend and would-have-been sister.)

"A Girl Like That" (TTTA, naturally, "A Boy Like That")
Klaus:

A girl like that, possessed by mother
A girl like that, she is the Other
Pick one in her right mind
At least in her own mind!

You forget, I knew Lucrezia
Her heart is not her biggest feature
Pick one in her right mind
At least in her own mind!

The Other can't be contained
Wants to tear the world apart
And she's the one that you'd defend
And give your heart
Very smart, my young heir, very smart!

A girl like that, wants to control you
She'll let her slaver wasps enfold you
She'll murder Europa
And Agatha's mind...
Just wait and see!
Just wait, Gilgamesh, just wait and see!

Gil: Oh no, dear Father, no!
Father, no!
It isn't true, not for her
For a weaker Spark, but not for her
I hear your words, and in my head,
I know you're right
But my heart, dear Father, but my heart
Thinks she can fight

You should know better!
You knew her dad - or so you said.
You should know better . . .

I have a hunch, and it's all that I have.
Right or wrong, what else can I do?
I love her; I'm hers,
And everything she wants
I want, too.
I know her heart, and that's all that I need,
She serves right, and she needs me, too.
I must help her become one;
There's nothing else to be done,
Not a thing I can do
But stand up, stand up forever,
Stand with her now, tomorrow
And all of my life!

Both:
With Heterodynes so strong,
Pray they know right from wrong,
You bet with your life.

katrinb — Mon, 16 Jul 2012 00:45:43 GMT

My brain is bizarre. I get involved with a series lately, my brain wants to rewrite a musical to suit it. For "Avatar: The Last Airbender", it was Les Mis. Now, with Girl Genius, it appears to be West Side Story.
The reason, of course, being that I noted that "Mechanicsburg" has the same rhythm scheme as "America," but then I started having bad thoughts about a couple of other songs from the show. They may follow, if I have the time and inspiration (can anyone think of someone whose name rhythmically matches "Officer Krupke?" I'm thinking a chorus of Jagers here...). But here, for anyone sufficiently disturbed enough to venture further, is my first effort.

“Mechanicsburg”

Welcome, dear Sparks, to Mechanicsburg
Plan all your larks in Mechanicsburg
Minions you'll find in Mechanicsburg
Of every kind in Mechanicsburg

Madboys and -girls in Mechanicsburg
You'll rule the world from Mechanicsburg
If you've the nerve in Mechanicsburg
We live to serve in Mechanicsburg

Heterodynes ran Mechanicsburg
Left their designs in Mechanicsburg
Castle of doom in Mechanicsburg
Death in each room in Mechanicsburg

Barry and Bill left Mechanicsburg
Took all the thrill from Mechanicsburg
We've felt their lack in Mechanicsburg
But Agatha's back in Mechanicsburg!

Time to rejoice in Mechanicsburg
We know the choice of Mechanicsburg
Doom Bell will ring in Mechanicsburg
Everyone sing in Mechanicsburg!

katrinb — Thu, 17 May 2012 22:05:04 GMT

Got up, fed cats, made lunch and snack for Bear, got Bear up, dressed, medicated, fed, and off to school, prepped venison chili and got it in the slow cooker (mirepoix mix (sauteed), garlic (lots), mixed bell pepper blend, ground venison (browned), Penzey's Chili Con Carne spice blend, tomato paste, water, and canned tomatoes). Rob had a bite, and pronounced it "good" (at least for this five-minute period until his tastes change completely again), which is helpful, as I cannot of course taste it myself, so am flying a bit blind. There are handicaps to being a vegetarian cooking for omnivores.

Then had a nice chat on the phone with jeanniemac, followed by a trip to Target to see about finding things, including Bear's latest prescription. Found some things (including Cheerios on sale just as I ran out of cereal, yay!), could not get Bear's prescription there since they were Out till mid-week next week (when Bear has one more day's supply left, thanks to having to go back and forth to the doc because they'd written a prescription for the brand name instead of the generic at our visit Monday, and I found later that day that it's a controlled substance so the pharmacist can't actually give me the generic unless I have a specific prescription for the generic, and the nurse-practitioner who wrote the thing wasn't in on Tuesday, and Wednesday I had to call and inquire of various people whether I could get a new prescription, none of whom seemed to have a clue what was going on, and I had only a 45-minute window between Rob's school letting out and his Tae Kwon Do class, so I went in and begged and finally got them to talk to the nice people who knew what was going on and could get it for me - did I mention this week has been a saga?). Went to Rite Aid instead - thankfully they had some. No more hassles. Whew. At least for another month. (Why does the best available treatment for ADHD, at least in Rob's doc's mind, have to be a controlled substance?)

Got home, got ready to take daily walk, only to find a neighbor at the door telling me his car had been towed by the $@%^ HOA (they've just instituted a parking tag policy - his own car was in the shop and he'd forgotten to transfer the tag to his rental car) and would I please give him a ride to the towing company? I did so, only getting lost once on the way (not bad for me, actually), and he pressed $20 on me, which I tried to refuse repeatedly but he wouldn't let me. (Did I do wrong there? I feel bad about taking money just to do a simple favor...)

Then got home, grabbing a bag of nuts on the way for lunch, and combined my walk with a library run (library is ~2 miles away). This is much easier now, thanks to my lovely wheeled shopping bag/cart from Whole Paycheck (actually cheaper than the not-as-nice one from K-Mart, go figure). I love this thing, it's wonderful, it's getting me more exercise and saving me gas and letting me get groceries and library books in the course of my daily walk instead of having to make a car trip. Used to use the stroller for that purpose, but we gave it up a while back, and I'd been missing it, for its stuff-hauling role - only occasionally for its Bear-hauling role, as he's mostly good at self-hauling these days. Mostly.

It has been, in fact, a wonderful day to be outside. Perfect temperature, bright sunshine, happy flowers, happy dogs, nice cool breeze.

Got home just in time to be at the bus stop for Bear - and then his bus was late, so I had to wait 20-30 minutes anyway, but had pleasant chats with neighbor parents/grandparents as well. (Baby C. - the infant daughter of a neighbor with a kindergartener son on my son's bus - was very annoyed with another regular because she had not, as she usually does, brought her small terrier, Chocolate. Baby C and Chocolate LOVE each other. Baby C. starts smiling widely, wiggling, and reaching for the dog the moment she sees her, and the moment she gets held within reach, Chocolate stands on her hind paws to lick her face, to their mutual glee and delight. It's absolutely adorable. But sadly, Chocolate's human had been running late - she thought - and hadn't had time to leash her up. Baby C. glared at her the entire time until the bus came. I never knew that baby could glare so hard - normally she's all happiness or else sound asleep when I see her...)

Came home, collapsed for about fifteen minutes (my feet hurt, and the moment I sat down, there was a gravity-depositing cat in my lap), and then Bear ran outside to play while I did dishes and prepped potatoes (now in the oven) and went through the garbage bag of stuff I'd hastily cleaned out of my car so our neighbor could sit in it, to get recyclables into the recycle bin. Now I am wondering where in heck my day and all my spoons have gotten to. (No, I do not mean that in the figurative sense of having no more energy and physical resources left. I mean my completely non-metaphorical stainless-steel teaspoons, of which I have only three in my drawer now. I suspect Bear is leaving them at school with his snacks - I should inquire of Ms. V tomorrow.)

Time to feed cats and turn potatoes. Hopefully will not lose what remains of my mind on the way to the kitchen, such that I end up feeding potatoes and turning cats. That never works.

Unrelated musings...

katrinb — Wed, 16 May 2012 01:35:32 GMT

Hmm. Penzey's Green Goddess dressing mix is not half bad with yogurt - but I think I'd like it better on potatoes than on salad. And their shallot-pepper blend is great on green peas. (Bear picked that one out from the smell - of course, he didn't finish his peas, but hey. Ate his chicken, some of his peas, ignored the stuffing - if he had to pick part of his dinner to ignore, I'd say the stuffing isn't a bad part.)

Our neighbor's cat (four doors down from us, or is it three?) decided this afternoon that Bear is his Good Friend - he kept flopping down in front of him on the sidewalk while he was playing outside, in clear "rub my tummy NOW" mode. He also managed a reasonable detente with Smokey the puppy two doors down, with only a little ear-pinning-back when Smokey tried to get too friendly (puppy's tail never stopped wagging, but of course a cat interprets that as a threat...). This cat is not supposed to be outside, mind you, because when he is outside, he has the tendency to forget where he lives - despite being all of three or four doors from home - and to attach himself to any passing human in hopes that they will guide him home. Or at least become his new staff. He's the one who wandered into our house once on a bitter cold day last winter, and because I didn't want to turn him out in the cold until his humans got home, he spent half a day stalking in circles with Sugar, occasionally trading hisses. Thankfully, that was not an issue today. And his human came home while we were outside, and reclaimed him in passing.

Only managed two units of platelets (and one of plasma) this morning, due to low iron. Need to work on that. Did walk a bit around Tysons' afterward, but not too much (no more near-fainting for me, that sensation - two donations ago, after I did too much and too strenuous walking afterwards - was SCARY), and made sure to eat something healthy afterwards. Sort of healthy, anyway.

And Bear threw a massive tantrum this afternoon, because when we left the vet's after picking up food for Sugar, his seatbelt didn't work. I offered to fix it, and tried, but got more tantrum and wails of "It's BROKEN! It WON'T WORK! It can't be FIXED!" plus quite a lot of physical resistance to me, you know, actually fixing it. Took about ten minutes of wailing before he'd let me do it already. I don't know what precisely brought that on, as the problem in question is a relatively easily-fixed one that's happened before, and been fixed before, in front of him. Sigh.

He also forgot his lunch bag at school, and I can't just use mine for him (since I'd need it, as I have lunch with him on Wednesdays) so I guess he's buying lunch tomorrow. Probably not as healthy as my lunches (I'm vain about my healthy-lunch-making ability) but less work for me, and healthy enough, and he enjoys it (it's breakfast-for-lunch day). Some days, good enough is good enough. I hope he actually ate the soup in his Thermos, or that's going to stink tomorrow when I get the chance to wash it out.

My husband sent me this picture - I had to ask who the people in the top picture were. But, given his answer, I think Ms. Frizzle would be proud of them.

katrinb — Mon, 14 May 2012 01:14:24 GMT

We went to Mount Vernon today (an exercise of my maternal prerogative for the day, since I wanted something outdoors but more interesting than a simple walk), and it was a gorgeous day for it. The grounds and especially the gardens are absolutely beautiful, though Rob got rather bored and frustrated in the mansion itself and right after. I suspect low blood sugar was a problem, given that we'd had brunch rather than lunch, and that he got a lot better once Jason fed him a pretzel. The crowds and the tight spaces inside were kind of uncomfortable for him, too, I'm sure. Not as big a house indoors as it looks from outside (though comparing it and Monticello to Braintree makes me wonder why Adams gets branded as the wealthy elitist...). I'm thinking I may get myself a year's pass (which is less than twice the cost for one visit) and just go there to take my walks around the grounds every now and then, while Rob's in all-day camps or at school. (Though that does leave me far away in case of emergency...but it's not that far, closer than Potomac Mills...) I can see why Washington loved the place so. It is worthy of love.

The slave burial grounds were kind of shivery-sad, though (just my imagination, likely, knowing what I know, but...), and I can't help feeling that the fountain memorial kind of sugarcoated their service, as though the slaves in question had been devoted altruistic voluntary helpers to the Washingtons, rather than enslaved by force. Though they did have a reasonable amount of information available on the slaves and what they did, with names and stories where available. (It was advantageous at one point to read to Rob, who was feeling Persecuted and Abused by having to walk around Mount Vernon on a lovely day, what the laundrywomen did every day, so as to show him that maybe he wasn't the worst-treated person in the world...)

They did have a nice little puzzle for Rob to solve - nine questions about the Washingtons and the grounds, plus a final puzzle where you took marked letters from the first nine answers and arranged them in numbered spaces to finish the quote, "First in war, first in peace, first in the hearts of his...." Rob did it all successfully (guessing some of the answers before he even saw the locations where they were revealed - for example, knowing that Washington rode a "horse" - OK, that one was easy - and that hogs were smoked to become Mrs. Washington's famous "ham" - though his first guess on that one was, for some reason, "fish", maybe because he'd had smoked salmon nigiri Friday night?), and won himself thereby a squashed penny with the mansion and Washington's signature on it (I wonder how they got him to sign all those pennies? And in such tiny writing, too...). He was delighted.

Had dinner at Paradiso, so Jason and I could get a quiet, child-free dinner while Rob enjoyed socializing in their kids' room - at least that was the idea, but the table behind us had a crying/squealing baby (well, I don't mind that so much) and the one next to us involved swapping of labor/childbirth stories, with the tables too close not to inadvertently eavesdrop. But good food, anyway. And no one was tugging at my arm or climbing/pounding on me affectionately, which did help. Much as I love the child, he can make it hard to digest one's food calmly.

He, too, had fun, especially since he found out that kids' dessert there now includes the possibility of mango, pineapple, or strawberry ice cream, in place of the usual chocolate, vanilla or strawberry (he picked mango) and that sprinkles can be involved on request. Much happiness there.

All in all, a good day.

katrinb — Sat, 12 May 2012 23:55:09 GMT

In my son's kindergarten, "homework" consists of reading a small, simple book. (I've asked his teacher for more challenging stuff, but their classroom library is limited, and while she does her best, it isn't quite enough for him.) He pleaded with me today to be allowed to put off doing his homework, because he'd rather continue reading the chapter book he picked up in the library on Friday, for fun. Much more complicated, many more words...you know, I'm inclined to let him get away with it. (His teacher won't mind, even if he never gets to the homework - it's entirely voluntary at this age. Anyway, he's reading, which is the point of the homework in the first place.)

And a local realtor kindly sent us complimentary tickets (with popcorn-and-drinks voucher!) for a local movie theater, that shows movies that aren't being shown in the standard theaters anymore, so we went and saw The Secret World of Arrietty. Of course, I'd read the book - but Miyazaki is one of the few film-makers out there who can make a book richer and even more beautiful as a movie. You don't need cheesy 3-D glasses with him - the art is layered, three-dimensional even when flat. And the way he showed how the world looks when you're small- even the drops coming from the teapot, slow and big and full of surface tension, were right, just as they ought to look. I am in awe.

Next, we need to find time for the Avengers, of course. It's so unfair to poor Jason, him being heterosexual and all, only having one piece of lovely eye candy to enjoy while I have the whole team, but he doesn't seem to mind. And all the reports we've been hearing on it are favorable. Should be fun. Hope the timing is right with Parents' Night Out next week (sadly, too many good movies get scheduled either too early or too late to meet the 7:30-10:30 time slot...)

katrinb — Thu, 10 May 2012 23:00:50 GMT

Shiny new archaeological find concerning the Mayan calendar

Well, have been somewhat productive today, in tidying up Little Bear's room and vacuuming the floor. Got his mattress back on his bed, too - I'd been keeping it on the floor, as he tended to fall off his bed (he's a very wiggly sleeper, which should surprise no one who's ever seen him awake), but he just curled up next to it on the floor. Also got his teddy bear armchair set up again, and he promptly curled up in it under a blanket, doing the small boy equivalent of a purrrrr...he did help clean somewhat, mind you, and he picked out a bunch of books to be given away to smaller children (mostly Dora and Diego stuff - anyone got kids interested in them still?).

katrinb — Tue, 01 May 2012 21:34:34 GMT

My son informed me that I am not allowed in the living room, and not allowed to look even a little at what he is doing. He then asked me how to spell "Happy Mother's Day."

Of course, I know nothing, and I see nothing.

katrinb — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 12:34:21 GMT

Literally, actually (mostly). Rob actually took his medicine (he'd been having trouble swallowing capsules) in Jell-0, so that was a good start, and then we set off for the DC Science and Engineering Fair. It was a bit large and somewhat hard to navigate for him (in terms of finding age-appropriate stuff), but he did draw a picture of the Earth for the AAAS, got a small fuzzy purple "microbe" with star-shaped sunglasses to sit on his shoulder, took an Eco-Quiz, saw the Orion capsule from the outside, played with a Kinect solar system-viewing program, and got any number of stickers. He was oddly uninterested in the books they had for sale, even the ones with potato-related science projects. Then he was bored, so we headed off for lunch.

Went to Teaism for a treat, since he had clamored for salmon earlier. Ordered him, at his request, a salmon bento box and orange lassi, with a veggie box and oolong tea for myself. He decided, upon receiving the box, that COLD salmon was anathema, and that he no longer likes edamame and cucumber salad at all (he's ALWAYS liked both). The rice had furikake on it, and he decided he hated that too (I can understand that, that's an unusual taste for a small American boy...). So he pouted. And demanded dessert. I said no dessert until he finished at least one square of his bento (or two half-squares, or other equivalent). He threw a tantrum, involving grabbing at my glasses, punching me, trying to bite me, and threatening to kill the whole universe if I didn't give him everything he wanted. Consequences ensued, aside from physically restraining him (TV-video privileges and DS are always the things that go first, because a) he loves them best, and b) I want to encourage him to do other things too anyway). Finally, he calmed down, finished his lassi, we packed up his food, and we headed off to the Natural History Museum (he'd said he didn't want to go initially, but decided it was OK because I told him their gift shop had pens, and he wanted a pen to write on a notepad he'd gotten at the science fair).

We got him his pen, and then he spotted the mammal exhibit. Enjoyed looking at all of our cousins, and watched some of the movie (he thought Morganucodon, the possible mammal ancestor in the middle of the room, was cute). Wandered a bit through the ocean exhibit (the giant squid was declared "kind of creepy", and I can see that, but he was fascinated by the whale), then through the early life on earth exhibit (he wasn't particularly comfortable around the eurypterid, either, but was delighted by the penguins in the "life in the oceans" timeline), then he decided he had SEEN the dinosaurs and didn't want to bother, so we left.

He got a ride on the carousel, then decided he wanted to sit in the garden and write on his notepad, so we did that, after a bathroom break in the Castle. (BTW, when you have a six-year-old who really has to go, those constant bag checks to enter any building there are REALLY annoying. But, thank heaven, he made it.)

After he had designed a sign-up list for a "clob" which was "openen today" (I believe he's trying to organize a club in our neighborhood to counter a similar club some of the neighborhood girls were trying to form, which got him mad because they excluded boys), he decided he wanted to see the American History Museum again (he'd been there for a field trip Friday, but hadn't gotten to see everything he wanted). So we did that, looking at the _Philadelphia_, the first few rooms of the America At War exhibit, and the housing-over-time and the maritime exhibits, among others, and then hit the gift shop, where he got a bag of marbles and a small book telling him how to use them.

By the time we were done, Jason and Brent were done with their concert (they'd gone to a video-game-music performance in DC), and we all met up and headed out to Bethesda, meeting jeanniemac and Wee Boy for a pizza dinner before going on home. Got to bed late, but it was worth it. I think this summer, Rob and I are going into the city more often during his "off weeks" from camps and classes - we really did have fun. And we need to hit the Folklife Festival, certainly.

katrinb — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 13:39:15 GMT

With apologies to Bob Esty for the theft of his tune (I have no ability to write tunes, so I steal other peoples').

Andromache's Lament
TTTO "Worms of the Earth"

My mother in law died today
An aged and broken old slave
No more light in her eyes yesterday
Then when she was laid in her grave
Once the warm, gracious woman who welcomed me home
When I came to her hall as the bride of her son
Full of life, wise and regal, a queen to her bones
Now great Hecuba’s power is done.

For we are the women of Troy, against the Lions of Greece.
Their glory, their honor, their bold epic tales are all built on the shards of our peace.
We wove and spun, gave our bodies to bear, gave our minds to wise rule of our folk,
And in one fatal night, all we built and we loved burned to ash for a goddess’s joke.

Is a goddess a silly young girl
To spat for an apple of gold,
To swoon for a shepherd boy’s curls
And detest us who served You of old?
Athena I worshiped with spindle and loom
And Hera did honor as Queen of us all,
And They sent all I loved to a fiery doom
For a fool boy who thought with his balls.

Penthesilea, bravest of queens,
You stood by our side without fail
Though you fell to their swords in the end
‘Gainst the gods’ favorites, who can prevail?
They molested your corpse and they slandered your name
Left your body there, cooling and slack
But I envy your shade, for you had what I crave
A sword and trained arm to fight back.

Achilles, who slaughtered my heart,
You’re naught but a petulant cheat
If not for your mother’s wise art,
You’d’ve lain in the dust at his feet.
But if Hector had lived and Achilles had died
He’d’ve treated your body with honor and pride
Not dragged in the dust while the whole city cried
For the last, greatest guardian of Troy.

You brutes, not content to kill men
You tore from me my only child
Dashed out his brains, tossed his corpse
In the pit where the children were piled
The children whose laughter brought life to old Troy
Filled the hearts of their mothers with fondness and joy
Now we keen o’er small bodies too silent, too still
Rest among them, my own darling boy.

For we are the women of Troy, against the Lions of Greece.
Their glory, their honor, their bold epic tales are all built on the shards of our peace.
You bards with your Muses, who sing of their names,
Mind the cost, while you praise valiant deeds –
Wherever men battle for honor or fame
There are women and children who bleed.

I needed to get that out. Now, to take Bear to the great big science fair in DC...

katrinb — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 11:48:59 GMT

Today eight years ago I married the love of my life, and a man who obviously has the patience of a saint, because he's still with me. Here's to many more, beloved!

katrinb — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 23:58:23 GMT

It's been something of a Day. One of the two library staff was out sick today. The full-time volunteer was also out. So it was me and Ms. H. the librarian in the morning (another volunteer joined us in the afternoon). And the library was being closed in the afternoon for a principal's luncheon.

So while we were managing the morning classes with only two people, and dealing with all the check-ins (no time for reshelving, even), we were also piling books on carts to be taken around to the afternoon classes (instead of them coming to the library as usual). (Granted, a lot of the recent check-ins to be reshelved just went back on the carts - the ones Ms. W.'s first grade returned went to Ms. R.'s first grade, and vice versa, while the ones from Ms. C.'s kindergarten class went to Ms. V.'s class and vice versa. It was easier and more efficient that way, plus the fact that they had been circulating recently probably meant that they were reasonably popular. The carts and a portable laptop for checkin stayed in the hall with me. Ms. H. gave the lesson in the classroom, and sent the kids out in the hall a few at a time to get books. The other volunteer kept order and made sure the kids weren't trying to check out large numbers of books from popular series and that sort of thing - the rule is two at a time, to save some for everyone else. I checked them out.)

I got to use the shiny laser check-out gun. Rob was very impressed.

Luckily, by the time Rob's class was due (his is the last of the week), the luncheon had finished and we could move back to the library along with the carts of books. And luckily, I know almost all their names, so check-out went much more smoothly for his class.

There's going to be a hellacious amount of reshelving on Monday. Maybe I'll stop in to help.

So, in the middle of this somewhat harrowing day, between the time they boot us out of the library at 11 and the time I need to be back for the first afternoon class at 12:10, what do I do? I go to the public library and get some more shiny books! (Some for me, some for Rob...) I am such a junkie. (But I'd finished three of the four I'd taken out Monday, and needed new ones for my platelet donation tomorrow...)

katrinb — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 13:28:08 GMT

I have Betrayed My Cat. At least in his eyes. Instead of responding to his urgent pleas for breakfast, I put him in the carrier and took him to the Horrible Vet, and LEFT him there. (Hopefully, he is now blissfully unconscious and not minding what they're doing to his teeth, which badly need dental work. But I still feel bad about it. He comes home tonight, and can resume complaining to me then, hopefully.)

Taking Robbie to the dentist (which we did yesterday) is SO much easier. At least he understands what is going on and why, realizes that cheap but somehow insanely desirable plastic toys will be given him if he cooperates, and while he may complain about the fluoride, he doesn't wail incessantly, pathetically, and heartbreakingly all the way there. (Granted, Sugar's vet is five minutes away. It feels like forever.)

The toys he got included a small plastic frog with Koosh-like body, whom he promptly named "Kerfred the Hedgefrog" (combination, of course, of Kermit the Frog and Alfred the Hedgehog, the latter being the star of a kids' TV show he watches sometimes before school), and a little plastic Hulk figure. This apparently prompted a solemn comment from the backseat on the way home, "You know, Mommy, Hulk is just like Frankenstein, except Frankenstein doesn't wear pants." Where he got that from, I don't know - every version of Frankenstein I've seen has him pants-enabled, but maybe it's just me. Maybe it's that he doesn't wear _purple_ pants. Or something.

As the above paragraph may imply, there was no school yesterday or today, as we have teacher workdays. Got to figure out how to get some exercise today, with Robbie around - it's not as easy as it was when I could just stick him in the stroller and take a walk.