Gorilla Glue

I'm actually not a very good Miser. In the true sense of the word that is. I do try, I really do, but when it comes right down to it I'm just no good. The other day I came across a casting notice for a new TV game show/reality contestant show, searching for real Misers. I thought to myself that perhaps I just might qualify for something like that. But then I read the blurb which said: "Misers wanted! Are you the Queen or King of Coupons? Can you stretch a dollar further than anyone you know? Can you find the most incredible deals out there? Then we want YOU to compete with other like mind individuals for a chance to win cash prizes!"

I knew that there was no way I could ever win a competition like that. For one thing, I hate coupons. They are usually for nothing that I would ever buy, and the rare times that I do find a coupon that I might use, I invariable forget that I have it until after it's expired. Also, I cannot stretch a dollar very far, sad to say. I'm not even sure what that means. And I never go searching for deals, rather the deals have to find me. So I'm just not a good Miser in those terms. However, I do have some good Miser-like qualities, I think. For one thing, I've gotten very good at grocery shopping, only buying what I know we'll eat and never letting any food go to waste. I cook mostly healthy, nutritionous meals for my little family these days, and we hardly ever eat out anymore. So we save money there. (Back in olden times, before Bee was born and when both Sparky and I were working, all we did was go out to eat. We wasted so much money at restaurants and bars and cafes, but it was worth it at the time, so who cares?)

But the one thing that both Sparky and I are the most Miserly-spectacular at is our usage of Gorilla Glue to fix anything and everything that has broken. Why go out and buy something new to replace your old-broken-down-whatever when you can just fix it with Gorilla Glue (which just happens to be the best glue that has ever been invented)? I love this stuff. Sparky loves this stuff, it is truly a miracle worker. It works on any and all surfaces such as metals, wood, plastic, stone, ceramics, rubber, etc. And it is waterproof to boot. If something becomes broken around our Miser household, we just fix it with our trusty Gorilla Glue - instead of using coupons or stretching a dollar or finding the best deal possible in order to replace the broken-whatever. Which means that less of our stuff gets thrown into the landfills, less or our money is flying out of our pockets, and even more of our stuff is kind of funky looking. But as long as it still works I'm good with it. So in those terms I guess I am a pretty good Miser after all.

Back In The Saddle Again

It has been quite a while since I've blogged. I suppose you could say I've been on hiatus. I've been meaning to blog and I've actually sat down and started to blog, but then wandered away from the computer in the middle of a sentence, distracted by something else that caught my attention. I guess I've turned into A.D.D. girl. I envy those Super Woman out there, the ones who faithfully and consistently blog, the ones who have kids galore and full time high-powered jobs and houses full of pets and a husband and all the obligations that go along with it and for some reason they DON'T have A.D.D. They are disciplined instead. How do they do it? They make me feel a bit feeble in contrast. I mean, I have one kid, one cat, one dog, one husband, and no full time high-powered highfaluting job to speak of, and I still haven't managed to blog in like a year of Sundays. But my intentions are good. I keep meaning to blog. I want to blog. But its been so long that I'm not sure how to start it all up again. So I decided to just sit down and write this and then I'll try to write again soon, and then it'll be a blog again. That is the plan, anyway.

Energy

Our little girl turned four years old the other day. (I can hardly believe it, where has the time gone?) We celebrated Bee's birthday at her preschool, and it was a short but sweet celebration. My favorite part was before the party even started. We got there early to set up, and the kids were outside playing. They were frolicking around in the fresh air, and when they saw us they came running over. Well, the girls did anyway. The boys were too busy pedaling in giant circles on their trikes to pay us any attention. Bee was so happy to see us, and was extremely excited about her impending party. So were her little friends. They chatted and giggled, dancing around us in anticipation. And then it was time for them to line up to come inside. They were all so happy you could feel them physically vibrating with intensity, they could barely contain themselves. If we could find a way to harness all of that energy, oil would seriously be a thing of the past. Preschool Kid Energy is pretty clean, easily renewable, and healthy for the environment. If only I could figure out how to do this then we probably wouldn't be Misers anymore.

More Jewelry for the House

I've made more tiles to hang on the house, around the downstairs doorframe, outside. I like it that they are not perfectly square, and some of them turn up a bit at the corners. The glazes also look much different than what I originally intended. When I first started making ceramics I would get upset when something came out of the kiln and didn't look I thought it would. But over the years I've learned not to expect too much control over my pieces as they rarely come out looking like they do in my mind's eye when they're being made. In fact, sometimes they are far better. And I've learned to like their flaws as well. Sometimes these flaws are the best part, but it usually takes me a couple of days of living with the pieces before I come to that conclusion. I have to first let go of my expectations, which is not always easy to do.

Snark

I'm in a kind of snarky mood today. Which is probably fairly obvious by my utiliziation of the word "snarky", which I never use. Just now I drove by three giant billboards for the movie "Arthur" within a one mile radius. Really? They need that many billboards? For a movie that looks like it's going to be worse than dreadful? First of all, who actually likes Russell Brand besides Katy Perry? Secondly, why is Helen Mirren in this movie? She is a stellar actor and I cannot imagine why she would sign on to this schlocky remake. And why is Hollywood remaking this movie in the first place? I saw the original one years ago with Dudley Moore playing the lovable drunken billionaire buffoon, and I remember finding it funny. My guess is that the film didn't age well, though. But that doesn't mean we need a remake of it. Why can't Hollywood make better movies? Instead of throwing millions of dollars at a formulaic rehash, why not just take a chance on an original script? I know that there are good screenwriters out there who are coming up with unconventional, creative scripts. I just don't get it.

Mr. Happy

Our neighbor's garage still sports those smiley faces, and amazingly they haven't been defaced by graffiti. We've found out that everybody on the block pretty much likes them, in fact people have been getting their picture taken in front of them. I guess the garage is earning something of a reputation. The other day (while we were out, of course) our neighbor, Jarvis, was outside with his tiny puppy, America. He noticed a bunch of people in front of the garage getting their photos taking. "Looks like a rock band," he thought to himself. Then teeny America slipped through the fence and ran over to the people in front of the garage. One of them scooped him up, and as Jarvis walked up to them he noticed that it was a rock band. Anthony Kiedis was holding America, and Jarvis snapped a photo with his cell phone of the Chili Peppers as they posed in front of our smiley faces! Of all the graffiti on all of the derelict garages in all of the gnarly alleys in all of the funky neighborhoods in all of Los Angeles, The Chilli Peppers chose ours for a photo shoot. Pretty cool... And if you happen to live in Los Angeles, you just may soon come across this same blue smiley face covering some hideous billboard in your daily travels.

Field of Wheat

A few years ago, Sparky's dear old friend, Poppy, who lives in Rushville, told us a story about his father that I still think about from time to time. Apparently Poppy's dad was a crumgdeon and a misanthropic ass who didn't really like very many people. Including two of his own children, but that's another story. Anyway, one night years ago, Poppy, his girlfriend Sammie from the Big City (that would be Indianapolis), and his family were eating dinner. Most likely it was Sunday supper as the whole family was there. They started talking about politics and an argument insued. It got pretty heated, as these types of conversations often do. Poppy and Sammy from the Big City were of course taking a liberal bent, while some of the others at the table were a bit more moderate. Poppy's father was not only a malcontent, he was a hugely conservative one. Apparently Poppy's father didn't say anything at all during this conversation. Which was normal because on top of it all, he was a fairly taciturn man. As things got more heated, Poppy's dad suddenly said, "Field of wheat, field of wheat. I wish I was in a field of wheat!" Everyone stopped and looked at him, and he just continued eating his good supper as though he hadn't just said something out of the blue. The conversation started up again, and that was that. This has always stuck with me, Sparky, too, and when we are both in situation we don't fancy this sentiment comes to mind. Field of wheat. Field of wheat. I wish I was in a Field of Wheat!