I miss Autumn

Hiraeth
Once the Autumn wind,
Cool, crisp, exhilarating
Played with my hair,
Scattered the rainbow
Of fallen leaves on the ground.

Once the smell of wood,
Burning in hearths,
or the scent of fresh-raked earth,
tickled my nose,
let me dream of autumn nights.

Once the cold majestic beauty
of ice, of snow
frosted the trees,
and blanketed the earth in shimmering white.

But here are no seasons,
only the heat and stifling air
and i long to go back to the wind.

Looking back...

I've seen this on several blogs today, and I'll play along.

Rules:
1. Go into your archive.
2. Find your 23rd post.
3. Find the fifth sentence (or closest to).
4. Post the text of the sentence in your blog along with these instructions.

From May 3, 2004:
And Thursday night I got to have a couple pints at my favorite Irish pub.

Ah, hard cider - one of life's little joys, and my desired celebratory tradition. The entry itself was nothing special, mainly a weekend recap.

A year ago today, I was lamenting the return of Autumn on the calendar without any visible signs of it here in Florida, and in retrospect was only hours from learning that Hurricane Jeanne was headed right for us.

Now, there's Hurricane Rita, who makes Jeanne look like the 95-lb weakling. We're out of harm's way, having gotten nothing from her but 4 inches of rain yesterday, but I'm praying for friends and family in Texas.

Unfortunately I think I can now file this season under Never Challenge "Worse".

A weekend for the birds...

The weekend here at Alternate Dementia started with a new addition - DD now has a budgie, and is ecstatic to be no longer among the ranks of the petless. The budgie, a pretty pale blue specimen named Angel, is still adapting to being away from all her(?) budgie friends and among these strange huge wingless creatures that make weird noises. A bird is a good compromise pet - more interactive than fish, without quite as much potential for mess and destruction as a furry pet. We've been talking to Angel, but other than the occasional chirp, she hasn't been particularly loquacious yet.

Otherwise, it was a relaxing weekend. I got a bit further on Last Supper, and watched a fair bit of football.

Pressure cookers are wonderful things - they allow even a mediocre cook like myself to make a good pot roast. Pot roast isn't really difficult at all in a pressure cooker - brown the meat, add your veggies and some water and put the lid on the cooker. When it seals up and starts steaming a lot, put the dancing thingy on top and let it dance for 45 minutes. Remove from heat, let it depressurize, and there you go.

Just don't put onion skins down the garbage disposal. I spent probably half an hour with my hand down in the disposal picking the skins out of the holes at the bottom to declog my sink!

Today's household tip...

Putting onion skins down the garbage disposal is not a wise thing to do.

Wit's end?

the Wit (57% dark, 7% spontaneous, 15% vulgar)

your humor style: CLEAN | COMPLEX | DARK You like things edgy, subtle, and smart. I guess that means you're probably an intellectual, but don't take that to mean pretentious. You realize 'dumb' can be witty--after all isn't that the Simpsons' philosophy?--but rudeness for its own sake, 'gross-out' humor and most other things found in a fraternity leave you totally flat. I guess you just have a more cerebral approach than most. You have the perfect mindset for a joke writer or staff writer. Your sense of humor takes the most thought to appreciate, but it's also the best, in my opinion. You probably loved the Office. If you don't know what I'm talking about, check it out here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/theoffice/. PEOPLE LIKE YOU: Jon Stewart - Woody Allen - Ricky Gervais The 3-Variable Funny Test

My test tracked 3 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender:

You scored higher than 74% on darkness

You scored higher than 0% on spontaneity

You scored higher than 2% on vulgarity

Dog-gone weekend

It was a weekend for happy endings.

Our temporary dog George has found a new home, with a family with several children. They came over with George's owner to have a look, and when George was just standing there obviously loving life while being dogpiled by several shortlings, everyone knew this was it. He's with a family who will shower him with attention, the kids get a very loving (if somewhat stupid) pet, and we're back to normal after the educational experience of determining a dog is not in our cards right now.

DD hasn't been taking it very well, though. Her betta, Violet, died on Friday (he was pretty old as far as bettas go), and then George going away has left her pet-less. We may explore other pet options in the future.

Other than the mass pet exodus at Alternate Dementia, life has been going well. Georgia Tech is now 2-0 and is ranked #16, although he and I both have serious beef with the coaching: when you're up by 13 with 5 minutes left in the game, and you have arguably the best running back in the ACC, you do *not* call pass plays, especially on 3 consecutive possessions! Note to Gailey: you should call running plays to run down the clock.

Minor football drama aside, I got plenty more stitching done on Last Supper over the weekend. At least Matthew is no longer talking to the wall, and I'm getting excited about the end being in sight.

And this weekend was a great one for mail. Between three people, I got a tin of Vanilla Earl Grey tea, two bags of Thorntons ginger chocolates, three Sudoku books, several cross-stitch patterns and a variety of other goodies. One would think it was my birthday or something!

And today I made some good headway on parish web updates I needed to do, and balanced the checkbook. Time to take a break and go stitch!

About meme

Yet another meme that's been floating around. Thanks to Glenda and Natty for this one!

---

Bold all those that you ever were guilty of doing. When you are done, add one thing that is true about yourself to the end, then post the list to your journal.

I've run away from home.
I listen to political music.
I collect comic books.
I shut others out when I'm sad. I tend to withdraw, anyway
I open up to others easily. Be friendly to others, yes. Bare my soul, no.
I am keeping a secret from the world.
I watch the news I get most of mine online
I own over 5 rap CDs. How about ZERO?
I own an ipod.
I own something from Hot Topic...
I love Disney movies. Some of them, especially older ones
I am a sucker for hair/eyes.
I don't kill bugs. Yeah right! Palmetto bugs and fire ants I destroy with glee.
I curse regularly.Not so much anymore - I used to be pretty bad
I have "x"s in my screen name.
I've slipped out a "lol" in a real conversation.
I love Spam
I bake well. Desserts, maybe
I would wear pajamas to school.
I own something from Abercrombie.
I have a job
I love Martha Stewart. Can't stand her
I am in love with someone. Several someones, in fact. See list to the top right.
I am guilty of tYpInG lIkE tHiS. Not intentionally!
I am self conscious.
I like to laugh.
I smoke a pack a day.
I loved Go Ask Alice.. Never read it
I have cough drops when I'm not sick.
I can't swallow pills.
I have many scars. Fair skin - I scar easily.
I've been out of this country.
I believe in ghosts. Jury is still out on that one
I can't sleep if there is a spider in the room. Spiders are no problem. Palmetto bugs, on the other hand...
I am really ticklish.
I love chocolate. Dark and European, especially
I bite my nails.. Not anymore
I am comfortable with being me. It's taken me a while, but I think I am there now
I play computer games/video games when I'm bored. Sometimes
Gotten lost in the city. Not for long
Saw a shooting star.
I have had two serious surgical procedures.
Gone out in public in my pajamas. Halloween, School Spirit week
I have kissed a stranger.
Hugged a stranger.
Been in a fist fight with the same sex.
Been arrested.
Laughed and had milk/soda come out of your nose.
Pushed all the buttons on an elevator.
Made out in an elevator.
Sworn at my parents.
Kicked a guy where it hurts.
Been skydiving.
Been bungee jumping.
Broken a bone.
Played spin the bottle.
Gotten stitches.
Drank a whole gallon of milk in one hour.
Bitten someone. Many kids do...
Been to Niagara Falls.
Gotten the chicken pox. Surprisingly, never have
Crashed into a car.
Been to Asia.
Ridden in a taxi.
Shoplifted.
Been fired. Laid off, yes. Never terminated for cause.
Had feelings for someone who didn't have them back. The story of my teenage years...
Stole something from my job. The odd pen tends to stowaway once in a while - nothing intentional
Gone on a blind date.
Had a crush on a teacher/coach.
Celebrated Mardi Gras in New Orleans.
Been to Europe. As often as possible
Slept with a co-worker.
Been married. 15 years and going strong!
Gotten divorced. Don't ever plan to.
Saw someone dying. Terminal illness is painful to watch.
Driven over 400 miles in one day
Been to Canada.
Been on a plane.
Seen the Rocky Horror Picture Show.
Thrown up in a bar.
Eaten Sushi.
Been snowboarding.
Been skiing. Once. I'd love to go again
Been ice skating.
Met someone in person from the internet. Married one, too!
Been to a car show.
Gone to college.
Done hard drugs. NO thanks, I don't feel like losing my job
Taken painkillers. Mostly OTC - who hasn't?
Met a celebrity David Byrne
I like playing practical jokes.
Once swore Disco would never die.
Seen a ghost. If I had, the jury wouldn't still be out on whether I believe in them.
Attended a professional sporting event NHL: Panthers at Devils, about 10 years ago

10 down, 2 to go...

..Apostles, that is. While I was watching football, I managed to get a fair bit done on Last Supper. I'm up to 222 hours.

(Click for larger image)
Of course, Matthew looks like he's talking to the wall at the moment, but I'm working on it. 275 still looks like a reasonable estimate.

I also had a good stash day yesterday! Last week I got two large boxes of good English tea (English Breakfast and Earl Grey) from my secret stitcher, and I came home last night to this:

(Click for larger image)

A piece of Sugar Maple Fabrics "Summer Pond", Two Victoria Sampler kits, Dracolair's "Red Dragon Bookmark", and *ten* Dragon Floss (hand-dyed in Wales, which only fuels my Cymrophilia). And my mysterious benefactor turned out to be Allie, who's been wonderful to chat with and is a fellow Sudoku addict. I look forward to possibly meeting her on my next UK trip, and I certainly foresee numerous trades of DMC for tea/chocolate/Sudoku books in my future.
Thank you, Allie! You've been a wonderful secret stitcher!

1st and 10

College football kicked off this weekend, and so begins the autumn tradition of parking myself in front of the television and stitching. There were several good games this weekend. Georgia Tech beat Auburn (Go Jackets!). UCF played South Carolina well, although they didn't win. (It would have been truly sweet for UCF to have beaten Spurrier on his first game back coaching college, but that wasn't likely to happen). And for the most part, the ACC acquitted itself well.

DD is starting to get into the act - she watched the Tech-Auburn game with me, and insisted on having her stuffed Buzz (Georgia Tech mascot) with her during the game. She's not quite to the point of being able to sing the Ramblin' Wreck song, but give us time...

Once upon a time, college football was simple: Cheer for Georgia Tech, and whoever's playing UGA. With the advent of the Bowl Championship Series to determine rankings, however, the whole cheering mechanism has become a little more complex:
The Alternate Dementia Rules of College Football Support
(in order of precedence)

Cheer for Georgia Tech

Cheer for whoever's playing UGA (unless UGA has several losses and they're playing an undefeated SEC team).

Cheer for the ACC team. If two ACC teams are playing, cheer for the one that plays Tech this season (this improves Tech's "strength of schedule"). If both or neither do, cheer for the higher-ranking one. If neither are ranked, viewer's discretion.

Cheer against the SEC. If two SEC teams play, cheer for the lower-ranking one. If neither are ranked, viewer's discretion.

Cheer for Central Florida.

Cheer for Notre Dame.

If neither team is in the SEC or ACC, cheer for the lower-ranked one (to give the ACC schools a chance to move up).

Viewer's discretion.
As you can see, the BCS makes for some pretty strange bedfellows.
But it does make it simpler in some instances. Last night, for instance: 9th ranked Miami vs 14th ranked Florida State. I personally dislike both teams...but they're both in the ACC now, so by the rules above I should cheer for Miami.

As it turned out, I missed most of the game because I was watching a History Channel special on Rome. But from what I did catch, I don't think I missed much. Both teams were pretty bad....certainly not Top 25 caliber.

Which confirms the Alternate Dementia rule of college football rankings:
The major Florida college teams are consistently overranked.

Dog days of summer...

So somehow late Saturday night we acquired a houseguest. Of the four-footed variety.

DD probably thought it was an answer to prayer. Even before our fence was rebuilt, she's been asking about getting a dog, and now that the fence is complete, she's been practically pestering us about it. Fence got completed this past Friday, DD asks again for a dog on Saturday, and *poof* (or is that *woof*?) late Saturday night we get a call from DsD - a friend of hers was in a bind and needed someone to dogsit for a couple weeks.

So suddenly, we are playing host to a friendly brindle mutt named George. He's probably about a year old, and friendly to the point of needy. DsD's been taking care of him, and DD has been constantly asking to walk or play with him. I've gotten a bit of exercise when I've walked him a couple times. But I've come to realize something...

I don't want a dog.

Not that I have anything against George. He's nice, rarely barks, pretty well trained. But he's just so...needy, and it is a bit unfair to keep him, or indeed any dog, cooped up on my back porch or in my yard all day, with almost no human interaction.

And then there's the fact that DsD is going off to Basic in a few months (she's joined the Army Reserves - hooah!) DD says she'd feed, walk, and do poop duty, but DD is only 6, and there is NO WAY I'd let her walk the neighborhood by herself. So I'd end up doing most of the dog work.

And when it really comes down to it, I am, at best, neutral on dogs. I grew up with both dogs and cats, but I'm a cat person. DH is definitely NOT a cat person (allergies and strong dislike) - when I married I gave up the cat for the man, and still consider it a very good trade. But we've had no furry pets during our entire marriage, and I've actually grown accustomed to not having to clean up pet fur, or worry about boarding arrangements during vacation.

So really, this stint of dogsitting has been an educational one for us. We've pretty much come to a decision, without having to learn the hard way.