For anyone who might think that a graduate degree in English/American literature means that all I do is read great volumes of ponderous classics, I just wanted to let you know that in the last 3 days, I have read the following:
The Phantom Tollbooth
Two Ramona books (Beverly Cleary)
Four Mrs. Pigglewiggle books
Thomas asked me last night what is so appealing about these "return to childhood" books. I told him it was because I love how straightforward all of the problems are--though life is never perfect, everything is fixable. I spend so much time reading about the various dimensions our fallen world takes and the weighty problems that existence brings about that it is very refreshing to "change it up" when I can. I guess it doesn't hurt that reading a Ramona book takes almost no brainpower and makes me laugh my head off to boot.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
What if...
...in all the things we considered in buying this house, we ended up in a "no dog neighborhood?!"
While Thomas and I are not ready or excited about buying a dog just yet, some incidents that have occurred while dogsitting for two friends' dachschunds have made us ask this question.
At 6:45 this morning, we let out the two dogs so they could go to the bathroom, sniff the morning air and generally just enjoy being a dog on a beautiful fall morning. Well, apparently they were a little too exuberant (read: barking a lot) and we got into trouble for this. Someone who lives in the apartments behind our wooded buffer took it upon himself to scream out the window that he was sleeping and the dogs were annoying him. Hearing a (cranky!)voice out of the trees was startling, but we quickly picked up the dogs and hurried them inside. About 30 seconds later, our sleepy and slightly disheveled next door neighbor rang our doorbell to inform us that his bedroom is on the corner and that the dogs have woken him up on the last two mornings. He was very nice about it, which made it all the more embarrassing to us.
We certainly did not blame either of the disgruntled people for being, well, disgruntled about the volume and quantity of dog barks, but in considering the lack of dogs around us, Thomas and I are a little nervous about what will happen when we do want a dog.
While Thomas and I are not ready or excited about buying a dog just yet, some incidents that have occurred while dogsitting for two friends' dachschunds have made us ask this question.
At 6:45 this morning, we let out the two dogs so they could go to the bathroom, sniff the morning air and generally just enjoy being a dog on a beautiful fall morning. Well, apparently they were a little too exuberant (read: barking a lot) and we got into trouble for this. Someone who lives in the apartments behind our wooded buffer took it upon himself to scream out the window that he was sleeping and the dogs were annoying him. Hearing a (cranky!)voice out of the trees was startling, but we quickly picked up the dogs and hurried them inside. About 30 seconds later, our sleepy and slightly disheveled next door neighbor rang our doorbell to inform us that his bedroom is on the corner and that the dogs have woken him up on the last two mornings. He was very nice about it, which made it all the more embarrassing to us.
We certainly did not blame either of the disgruntled people for being, well, disgruntled about the volume and quantity of dog barks, but in considering the lack of dogs around us, Thomas and I are a little nervous about what will happen when we do want a dog.
Friday, September 11, 2009
Typing this post took great effort.
Scene: My yearly trip to the eye doctor this morning at 8:45.
Eye Doctor: Yes, I have to dilate your eyes. Otherwise I can't shine glaringly uncomfortable lights into them that will make them water uncontrollably. If I don't do this, then the stock we own in Kleenex will dip down and we won't have the money to buy all this fancy equipment that ultimately just results in me saying "option 1 or option 2? Is it option 3, or 4?"
But don't worry, they will undilate in 2 hours, 3 at the absolute outside. You will be perfectly safe to drive, but just allow for "plenty of time to get anywhere." We certainly don't want you to be unsafe.
5 minutes later, I am driving down the road at granny speed, sunglasses glued to my eyes and eyes almost shut against the September sun, which seems to be reflecting even more intensely than usual. Somehow I made it home, accident-free, and went to find the darkest room in the house possible. With my sunglasses on.
3.5 hours later, my pupils are still the size of dinner plates and reading is still a struggle. Good thing my livelihood doesn't depend on it. O wait...
On a happier note, I have now made it in and out of 3 types of doctors for yearly check ups. I think that this almost qualifies me as an adult.
Eye Doctor: Yes, I have to dilate your eyes. Otherwise I can't shine glaringly uncomfortable lights into them that will make them water uncontrollably. If I don't do this, then the stock we own in Kleenex will dip down and we won't have the money to buy all this fancy equipment that ultimately just results in me saying "option 1 or option 2? Is it option 3, or 4?"
But don't worry, they will undilate in 2 hours, 3 at the absolute outside. You will be perfectly safe to drive, but just allow for "plenty of time to get anywhere." We certainly don't want you to be unsafe.
5 minutes later, I am driving down the road at granny speed, sunglasses glued to my eyes and eyes almost shut against the September sun, which seems to be reflecting even more intensely than usual. Somehow I made it home, accident-free, and went to find the darkest room in the house possible. With my sunglasses on.
3.5 hours later, my pupils are still the size of dinner plates and reading is still a struggle. Good thing my livelihood doesn't depend on it. O wait...
On a happier note, I have now made it in and out of 3 types of doctors for yearly check ups. I think that this almost qualifies me as an adult.
Friday, September 4, 2009
The one about the kitchen sink
I have noticed something funny about our new house (our beautiful new home that we are so so happy to be in!). I am hoping that this serves as an excuse for why I have not been blogging recently. Moving across town and starting school again proved to be too much for my new blogging self.
The faucet of our kitchen sink has two settings. The first is a gentle but steady amount of water that increases or decreases as you raise and lower the handle. It is more than capable of cleaning our dishes, hands, and whatever else might fall in it. The other setting is Niagara falls. You press the little button, and all of a sudden the gentle/steady flow turns into a deluge of epic proportions. You become instantly soaked as the water sprays uncontrollably off of whatever object it happens to come into contact with--especially if said item is tilted at any sort of angle.
If you recall my post about being on a boat going 40 mph in a rainstorm, you can apply similar ideas here.
Having observed these facts about our sink, I have also observed that the little buttons that create each setting may as well be labeled M and F. I think that my preference for the first setting is fairly obvious at this point, so it follows that Thomas never uses the sink without pressing the other button. He appears happy to leave the kitchen looking like he has just stepped off of Noah's Ark, marveling at the speed at which he completed the dishwashing because of the "amazing water pressure."
So, if you come to our house, be warned. If Thomas was the last one at the helm in the kitchen, you will get soaked (and quickly!)
The faucet of our kitchen sink has two settings. The first is a gentle but steady amount of water that increases or decreases as you raise and lower the handle. It is more than capable of cleaning our dishes, hands, and whatever else might fall in it. The other setting is Niagara falls. You press the little button, and all of a sudden the gentle/steady flow turns into a deluge of epic proportions. You become instantly soaked as the water sprays uncontrollably off of whatever object it happens to come into contact with--especially if said item is tilted at any sort of angle.
If you recall my post about being on a boat going 40 mph in a rainstorm, you can apply similar ideas here.
Having observed these facts about our sink, I have also observed that the little buttons that create each setting may as well be labeled M and F. I think that my preference for the first setting is fairly obvious at this point, so it follows that Thomas never uses the sink without pressing the other button. He appears happy to leave the kitchen looking like he has just stepped off of Noah's Ark, marveling at the speed at which he completed the dishwashing because of the "amazing water pressure."
So, if you come to our house, be warned. If Thomas was the last one at the helm in the kitchen, you will get soaked (and quickly!)
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