36

Look left, look right, look
out, look here, look askance, look
behind, look forward.

35

Fill in the dates on
the new calendar. Even
glaciers move onward.

34

Molasses running
uphill :: flow of time for last
five minutes of work.

33

Old cat stretches her
shaky shank, settles on the
pillow for the night.

32

oHIo would be
better if there were less of
it. Are we there yet?

31

Holiday gathers
folks who normally don't talk.
How 'bout dem Lions?

30

Solid earth became
as water when fire melted
air out of the sky.

29

Shiny paper and
ribbons so neat, so soon torn,
so soon all passes.

28

Wow — Lots o' snow. Hope
you're safe and warm. Would you like
help getting dug out?

27

Cottonball of spark
blinks black beaded eyes and calls
chick-a-dee-dee-dee!

26

Shoveling drifted
glitter, I look up to see
still more sky falling.

25

From naked branches
starlings drip like black fruits of
winter's icy rain.

24

The way that once was
open is now blockaded.
Thanks, snowplow driver.

23

Petals of my eyes
drift slowly closed, two flowers
dormant for the night.

22

Too many cookies,
candy, coffee, salami.
I don't feel so good.

21

As a hawk from the
sky drops suddenly on prey,
the snow falls earthward.

20

Winter waking up
is hard to do. Dark and cold.
Draw fire from within.

19

Slipping down icy
paths is more fun with someone's
arm to lean against.

18

Flutter of brown on
field of winter white. Sparrow
and leaf become one.

17

Okay, so I fell
off the haiku wagon. Time
to get back with it.

16

The bubble bath my
sister sent makes me smell like
a sugar cookie.

15

Chilly jewel from
crown bounces free; by a cold
raindrop anointed.

14

Stamp off snow, shake out
ice diamonds from hair, pick up
purring cat. Ah, home.

No Haiku Today. Saved by the Meme.

1) Five names you go by

a) Kim
b) Kimmijo
c) Kiki
d) Kimmy (to the select few)
e) ???

2) Three things you are wearing right now

a) My glasses
b) Fleece pajama pants with reindeer on them
c) Slippers

3) Two things you want very badly at the moment

a) Sex
b) For the bump on my eyelid to go away

4) Three people who I would like to see fill this out:

a) Barack Obama
b) My oldest friend
c) My newest friend

5) Two things you did last night

a) Took a bubble bath
b) Read a book (wooooOOOOO!!! Wild Saturday!)

6) Two things you ate today

a) Seafood omelet
b) Milano cookies

7) Two people you last talked to on the phone

a) Potential suitor
b) Real estate agent

8) Two things you are going to do tomorrow

a) Call car dealership for appointment for recall stuff
b) Finish winter-proofing the windows

9) Two longest car rides

a) Ohio to North Carolina
b) Ann Arbor to Whitefish Point

10) Two of your favorite drinks

a) Water
b) Fin du Monde

13

Trees fling long fingers
to the sky, surrendering
to the snow-filled wind.

12

Friday! Time to
relax. Movie is boring
but shiraz is good.

11

Quiet coffee shop
shattered by burst of laughter.
Why am I so loud?

10

I should join the gym
before the post-New Year's rush.
Maybe tomorrow.

9

The case of "our" wine
arrived. You have it but not
me. Happy birthday.

8

Saucy seafood bake
with rice and garden greens. Sounds
good — but it's cat food.

7

Snow is falling. Would
you like Kenyan coffee, Earl
Grey, or darjeeling?

6

Corn flake crunch. Autumn
leaf rustle. Bear coming? No.
Only chipmunk chase.

5

Dishes in the sink,
bed unmade, floor unvacuumed.
Day off laziness.

4

Turkey, cranberries,
broccoli with onion crisps
and cheese, corn, pie *burp*

3

Despite financial
market crises we still have
much more than others.

Haiku Project

My informal writers' group has become more of a restaurant review group. At our weekend meeting we decided we should at least make some attempt to put pen to paper and finger to keyboard and resolved each to write at least 17 syllables every day until our next meeting, which is January 11. Other formal rules of haiku need not apply. Just 17 syllables, every day.

2

Wade into shallow
pool of digital dating.
Plenty of fish? Not.

Haiku 1

Cakes of white frosting
Melt, revealing glass and steel
In the parking lot

Proud of my home county

in John Murtha's redneck, racist district.

Owl O'Lantern

One day you finally knew
what you had to do, and began,
though the voices around you
kept shouting
their bad advice —
though the whole house
began to tremble
and you felt the old tug
at your ankles.
"Mend my life!"
each voice cried.
But you didn't stop.
You knew what you had to do,
though the wind pried
with its stiff fingers
at the very foundations,
though their melancholy
was terrible.
It was already late
enough, and a wild night,
and the road full of fallen
branches and stones.
But little by little,
as you left their voices behind,
the stars began to burn
through the sheets of clouds,
and there was a new voice
which you slowly
recognized as your own,
that kept you company
as you strode deeper and deeper
into the world,
determined to do
the only thing you could do —
determined to save
the only life you could save.

-- Mary Oliver

I Have One Thing to Say

Number. Three. Penn. State.

That is all.

Neighbor Kitteh

Loves my welcome mat.

Not on the SparkPeople Diet Plan

Child of the Digital Age

My friends' son is only a day old and he's already on Twitter.

Question of the Day

Has the Large Hadron Collider destroyed the earth?

Holy Crow

It's the middle of September already.

Incoming!

Bouquet of Shadows

New Decor

Guess the Year

No Wikipedia peeking!

Ten Things Kimmijo is Tired Of

1. Gustav
2. Gustav
3. Gustav
4. Sarah Palin
5. Sarah Palin
6. Sarah Palin
7. Bristol Palin
8. Sarah Palin
9. Sarah Palin
10. Sarah Palin

And I never even turn on the tv. I don't know how you people do it. srsly

Also, who names their kid after an industrial city in England and/or cream sherry? I mean, it sounds all bristly and brushy and like a cute name for a pet hedgehog.

Yours Truly to be in the New Yorker

Albeit anonymously, as the designer of a little one column by one inch ad that cost more than my monthly salary.

From Today's Ann Arbor News

I'm not sure what "The business o     een" means to Michigan, but I'm guessing it means some ad designer's in trouble.

Quote of the Day

"If you describe things as better than they are, you are considered to be a romantic; if you describe things as worse than they are, you will be called a realist; and if you describe things exactly as they are, you will be thought of as a satirist."

-- Quentin Crisp

Today in the Garden

Some sort of clear-window-winged fly/moth:


Black-eyed Susans and white coneflowers in their prime:

An Improptu Mojito Tip from Kimmijo

Get home with the rum and all ready for a mojito and find out you don't have any limes? Use a generous splash of the Simply Limeade you had in the fridge. Perhaps not authentic, but damn good.

Frog

Thoughts on Democracy

Thoughts on Democracy reinterprets Norman Rockwell's famous Four Freedoms posters.

Enjoy your weekend.

New Pet

Dark spot is an ant I fed her for lunch...it's still alive and squirming.

Hazardous Weather Outlook

Wordle

Working from Home

ZOMG SHOOZ!

These are now the girliest things I own.

We've Come a Long Way, Baby

Via Two Women Blogging, this delightful "1930's Marital Quiz"

-5 As a 1930s wife, I am Very Poor (Failure) Take the test!

I probably got -10 for "Puts her cold feet on husband at night to warm them." Out of curiosity, I took the husband test and guessed what K. would answer. He's a slightly better 1930's spouse, despite "Belches without apology" and "Dislikes to dress or shave on Sunday."

40 As a 1930s husband, I am Poor Take the test!

Jean Valjean

Caught this guy climbing out of the storm drain.

Kitchen Confidential

From the moment I moved in, I've hated the counter tops in my kitchen. They've been coated with some sort of spray-on granite type stuff, and it's gritty and nubbly and never comes clean. Plus, it's just plain ugly:



After nearly two years of procrastination, I decided to do something about it. I decided the simplest thing to do would be to simply cover the nubbly stuff with Contact paper. I measured twice, cut once to fit the smaller counter space to the right of the sink, only - surprise! - the paper wouldn't stick to the damn stuff.

The "rock" has been flaking off in spots, revealing white counter top underneath. So I started scraping. After about an hour and a half and half a bottle of Sally Hansen Pro-Vitamin B5 nail polish remover, what lies beneath was revealed:



Not a bad counter top, really. A little stained and now scratched up from my scraping. Point of no return-I've got to cover it with something now.

Voila. Contact paper now adheres:



Much bettah. I might wait for slightly cooler weather before tackling the larger counter top though.

Oh Good

Finally a recipe from The Godless Liberal Hairy-Legged Feminazi Bitch's Compleat Cookbook.



Naw, really. It's just a truncated RSS feed. I prefer babies crunchy. With ketchup.

Brand Timeline

In response to this post, my day Friday, May 23, in major brands.

I left out some repetition. You don't need to know how many times I used toilet paper. Also, I didn't include small, local brands, like the locally-owned grocery and meat producer.

One-Word Answer Meme

1. Where is your cell phone? Dunno

2. Your significant other? Big

3. Your hair? Wet

4. Your mother? C.

5. Your father? J.

6. Your favorite thing? Me

7. Your dream last night? None

8. Your favorite drink? Water

9. Your dream/goal? Land

10. The room you’re in? Living

11. Your ex? Which?

12. Your fear? Alone

13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Somewhere

14. Where were you last night? Here

15. What you’re not? Male

16. Muffins? Cranberry

17. One of your wish list items? Shoes

18. Where you grew up? Pennsylvania

19. What are you wearing? Pajamas

20. Your TV? Off

21. Your pets? Cat

22. Your computer? Mac

23. Your life? Started

24. Your mood? Good

25. Missing someone? Yes

26. Your car? Hyundai

27. Something you’re not wearing right now? Glasses

28. Favorite store? Grocery

29. Your summer? Busy

30. Like someone? Yes

31. Your favorite color? Purple

32. Last time you laughed? Today

33. Last time you cried? Thursday

Sandwich I Invented

What do I want?

ARUGULA!

When do I want it?

NOW!

How do I want it?

With brie and hard salami on a Zingerman's baguette.



Try it. Gut essa.

New(ish) Visitor

Been coming to the feeder for a couple of days now. Also a pair of house finches.

Apple Tree

And if you don't want to be down with me
Then you don't want to be from my apple tree



And if you don't want to be down with me
You just don't want to be down

Presented Without Comment

Via Shakesville , where the comment thread made me LOL.

Bigot, PhD

Not sure if J.P. is greeting me in Russian or just really excited about a hedge.

Pictures from an Exhibition

Set-up phase.




Portfolio available upon request.

Bridging the "Bubba Gap"

I love arugula.
I love beer.
Politicians should pay me lots and lots of money as a consultant to help bridge their "Bubba gaps."



Thanks Newsweek, for reminding me why I let my subscription expire four years ago.

4/29: Amanda at Pandagon amuses me with "Arugula and Bubbas I have known."

Burble Burble

2008 Student Exhibition

If you can't make it to my portfolio show on the 30th, here's a link to some low-res samples of what you'll be missing.

It's 10:30 p.m.

Do you know where your succubus is?

One of my faves

At Last

Not Just Once, Not Just Twice

Feeling Loved

Earworm

OHHH-OH BROKE MY HEAAART AT THE FUNPLEX, YES YOU DID, YES YOU DID
PAAAAANICCC AAAAAT THE FUUUUUUUUUUUUUNPLEX

View From My Window

Welcoming spring in Michigan.

A Find from Yesterday's Venture into Annoyinggifistan

Thanks for lunch D.!

Whew

Made it home safely. Evidently the brain of every driver in Ann Arbor dissolved since the last snowfall...what? Two weeks ago?

w00t!

I got the job. I got the job. I got the job. I got the job. I got the job. I got the job. I got the job. I got the job. I got the job. I got the job. I got the job. I got the job. I got the job. I got the job. I got the job. I got the job. I got the job. I got the job. I got the job. I got the job. I got the job. I got the job. I got the job. I got the job. I got the job. I got the job.

I Has a Font

Come Hither, My Little Chickadee

Socks for My Friend L.

Finished last week while I was offline. Had enough Sockotta yarn left over from the baby sweater for these socks and another pair of socks for a wee one-year-old bairn.

Victims of the "Victimless" Crime

In the wake of the Eliot Spitzer mess, I've noticed many well-known male "liberal" bloggers think prostitution is no big deal and shouldn't be a crime.

Should slavery not be a crime? How about rape? Check out Marc Rabinowitz's fact label at Design Observer.

I'd post more, but I'm at work, and my Mac is still in the Apple hospital.

Offline

My beloved G4 Macintosh is down - it's going to the Apple Store tomorrow to have an operation performed on the logic board. Wish us luck.

Finished Dairy Identity Project

Available on other, slightly neglected blog.

Tuesday's Snowfall