Dax the iPod is now loaded with all the music I care to fit her with and, to be honest, I'm not quite sure what to do with it. I suppose as I venture out again to the rec more often that I'll be able to come up with something for it. I'm also finding the shuffle function hands me little musical surprises; hearing "you know no one here will sympathize with you" is a reminder of a sardonic comment I might have heard once upon a time. On the other hand, it gives me Irish dance music. One very important opportunity the iPod afforded me was to share music with The Kat even as I loaded it up. The sharing led to other things, like nail polishing and giggling like a couple of girls. Which we happen to be.

I also found out that my eight-year-old daughter has a little bit of a dark streak; while choosing nail polish colors, she opted for a dark rose because it looked like, and I quote "like her nails had dug into flesh". She's such a pretty princess, so lady-like and genteel.

I reformatted the desktop today in a falling on my own sword gesture that hopefully headed off any major problems at the pass (how's that for mixed metaphors?). I had warning and enough time to clear the entire drive of anything I might have actually wanted. The wiping of the drive was shockingly quick, but the setup will be less so. I've got a lot of software for work that needs to go back on.

I finally wised up and dropped my history class. I'll be taking it in the spring term instead, allowing it to be paced for mere mortals as opposed to the section for superbeings. That's not to say that, were this my only summer obligation, I wouldn't be able to handle it. It's just more than my schedule and sanity will allow at the moment. I dropped it a couple of days ago and have found myself suddenly exhausted. Michael's convinced that it's because I don't have the constant adrenaline to prop me up.

Know what makes Torchwood even better than it already is?

Sharing it with my husband and my former officemate, both of whom are complete Whoniverse fans.

I've got entries on the back burner, but am busy with work and school at the moment. Just wanted to make certain that I wasn't neglecting the place too terribly.

There are a whole bunch of new pictures up on the Flickr account, including this one that I really think must be lolcatted.

Anytime I feel the need for a little hilarity, I open up one of the LDS ward cookbooks that hang out in my kitchen. They're full of folksy misspellings and the editing is atrocious, leading to recipes that beg to be read aloud for amusement if not information. Among the many things learned yesterday was that the casseroles we now have were preceded by earthenware versions, some of which came with their own covers, that chickens should be cut into primal parts (I don't think I have a cookie cutter for that), and that meat should be browned in hot shortening. I suppose this last was predicting the resurgence of lard, as I saw reported in the New York Times just last week.

I've started the second session and all I can say at this point is thank goodness the books are readable. Some books for other classes should have come with a warning label of some sort, alerting the reader that the books might induce drowsiness and that driving under its influence could be dangerous, but so far these books have all been engaging and well-written.

Sorry, we're listening to BBC Radio 4 right now, waiting for today's Torchwood episode, and I just heard the sound of sheep coming from my kitchen. I knew our food was fresh, but even that fresh is a little surprising.

I have been considering an iPod for a while now, but I wasn't expecting to find one marked down rather significantly yesterday. I snapped it up and am now just waiting for it to arrive. While I do so, I'll read and code and listen to Torchwood.

I don't know if it's something in the air or what, but I've had two phone conversations that I wanted to write down if only because of the utter silliness.

This morning, while paying a bill, I spoke with a woman to confirm the credit card details I'd just given.

Rep: Is that your expiration date?
Your Host: That's the card's expiration date. It would be highly inconvenient if it were mine.
Rep: What?
Your Host: That's the card's expiration date. It would be highly inconvenient if it were mine.
Rep: *pause* That's the card's expiration date?
Your Host: Yes, that's the card's expiration date.
Rep: Okay. Bye.

And then this evening during an inane survey about insoles.

Rep: Have you used Otter-Eaters?
Your Host: No. And I think you mean Odor-Eaters. Otters are mammals.
Rep: *pause* Of course.

I think I'll just read my book now.

This guide pretty much sums up the way to my heart, should Michael suffer a blow to the head and need a reminder.

I realise that this just makes us sound like social butterflies, but we were all out again last night at a concert. This time it was an open air concert in Ann Arbor with the lovely and talented MC Frontalot. It was supposed to be a family-friendly show and, for the most part, I think that was rather successful. However, I've never considered "Yellow Laser Beam" to be on the list of "songs every child should hear".

With that said, it was still a fun concert and I'm glad to have gone. I was even more glad to have had the Star Trek novelization on audio book to keep us company en route, even if I was trying to read about early colonial history, slavery, and how the decline of empires tended to leave military adventurers all dressed up with no place to go. I get the feeling that this session is going to be a long one, even if it's still only six weeks.

I took a lot of pictures last night and am realising that a camera with a few different high speed capabilities might be helpful. I also started having a few failures, which doesn't exactly endear me to the hardware right now. I' hoping that it was a temporary thing, as I've had issues like that before, but I also know that this little camera gets a lot more use than it might have been designed for. After all, it tends to catch eccentric and flamboyant dancers, little children, and full-grown men completely attired in crochetwear.

An errand and then two sites to wrap up today so I can make a push to clear my queue.

I must admit that, not too long ago, I considered the radish green to be unworthy of eating. However, I have since been introduced to the wonders of many edible green (beet, turnip, arugula, and kale among them) and just couldn't bring myself to waste something that just might be edible. Waste not, want not, you know?

Which is how I came across this: Radish Top Soup (here's a link to the original recipe should you want to try that and then mod it to your tastes). It sounds almost like Zuppa Toscana but without the meat.

Between the radish top soup and the strawberry jam that's about to be cooked up, it sounds like we've got a busy culinary day ahead.

Michael and I headed to OSU yesterday so that I might have the opportunity to speak with Jerry Beck. Jerry is one of, if not the, foremost authorities on WB animation and, with my research interests, it seemed a good idea. Besides, I'd interviewed him two years ago for another piece that I was working on at the time and his graciousness in that encounter encouraged me to go for round two.

We spoke briefly during the book signing line and then more at length after the evening's screening of 101 Dalmatians. It was at that point that Jerry gave me his business card, saying that I'd "earned it", as well as making a few recommendations for papers I might want to consider writing in the future. He also agreed to be interviewed for anything I might need on my master's thesis, which actually remedied a slight anxiety that cropped up yesterday about what I really know and don't know about 1930s Warner Bros. animation.

As for 101 Dalmatians, that was fun to see on a big screen and even more fun to see with the children. I think my favorite moment was during the "What's My Crime?" scene. For those who might not be as up on their 1950s game shows, "What's My Crime?" followed the conventions of "What's My Line?", right down to the signing in on the chalk board and the flipping of numbered cards, counting down the remaining questions that could be asked. As the scene played, our entire family glanced down the row at one another, grinning in recognition and enjoying that little moment where, if the joke wasn't obvious to everyone, it was obvious to us.

I know I've commented on this at some past entry, but I have to say how pleased and proud I am of my kids. When meeting someone new (or even someone of the stature of Jerry Beck), they keep their composure, they're polite, and they're not afraid to ask questions. They seem so much more together than I was at any of their ages and so much more comfortable in their own skins.

It was funny, but when I called Country Music Sister last night to tell her about what had happened with Jerry, she was excited for me but not surprised. Apparently I am now She Who Talks to Everyone and Goes Everywhere.

We are back to the Toledo Farmer's Market and the haul this week was impressive. The fridge is now stocked with:

salad turnips
bok choi
spinach
beets
koosba
yellow summer squash
a flat of strawberries for jam
a basil plant
a rosemary plant
green beans

And from the garden this morning:

peas
radishes

My herd of tomato plants continue their skyward trek and are putting out flowers like mad. I'm hoping that this means that we might have enough of a crop to put up tomatoes without too much supplementation from the market. However, if that needs to happen, that's fine, too.

When you see a guy sitting in his yard with a pair of binoculars…..oogling the sunbathing, bikini-clad girls just up the street.

There's a bunch of new pictures on the Flickr account now that I've reupped my pro account.

We packed up the family on Sunday in the hopes of spending a peaceful night at the lake shore in observance of both Father's Day and the first day of summer. The drive was peaceful, due in no small part to the fact that I was watching cartoons on Michael's laptop in advance of writing a paper on representation of 1930s radio and music celebrities in cartoons and the children were watching from the backseat. We drove into Port Clinton, commenting on what a tiny, quaint little town it seemed to be, and then noticed some unusual bugs that seemed to multiply as we drove closer to the marina.

I'd recently read a Facebook status from a fellow Sunnydale North resident in which she lamented the arrival of the mayflies, but I didn't give it much thought until we parked our car at what looked like a likely picnic spot. The playground and picnic tables were curiously vacant, but I didn't give it a lot of thought until I got out of the car and made it about twenty feet away.

And then the mayfly storm commenced.

They were everywhere, on our bags, in our hair, and in my panic to get them off me I accidentally knocked off my glasses, causing me to freeze until I could retrieve them. At this point I called an immediate retreat and Michael agreed. As we turned tail for the car, The Kat commenced screaming, utterly panicked by the bugs that would not simply wipe away but instead needed to be pulled off. We got her taken care of, but we were all a little distressed by the time all was said and done. We pulled out and found a much safer place for dinner: the parking lot of the county building/penitentiary. There were a few hangers on from the mayfly breeding grounds, but we shed those in short order.

After dinner, we decided to try the shore one more time and found a spot of beach that had considerably more people than mayflies. Given that the human numbers were likely less than thirty, we felt pretty good about giving it another go. Michael and the kids had a marvelous time wading, I took a lot of pictures and tried to listen to the waves by way of finding a little peace and quiet. We stayed until just before sunset, then made one more stop before we got back on the road for home. Unfortunately for The Kat, the mayflies were lying in wait in the ladies' room at the park and she was so terrified that she decided to pass on that stop.

The kids were soaked and covered in sand, so I pulled the quilt out of the trunk and made them sit on that in the back as opposed to letting them grind mud and sand into the upholstery. Despite the quilt and sand in unexpected places (poor Thing Two), I think all had a good time and it was not long after leaving that the children fell asleep, piled like filthy little puppies in the backseat.

As for Michael, he talked with his brother and his childhood best friend for most of the time we were there. While it made it a little more difficult to get a good photo of him, I don't begrudge him a minute of that time. I think he needed it.

So Mayflies, 0 / Your Host's Family 1. I do not want a rematch.

I'm not entirely responsible for the beauty you see before you (click picture for more detail). Michael has put a lot of hours into digging up the yard to make room for a garden and the digging continues as we have a number of crops still to get in. However, the tomatoes make me exceptionally proud and not just because of their lovely, bushy habit with the promise of a big crop later.

There's also the triumph over the Tomato Cage monopolies in that garden. I know it's hard to see, but we opted for a trellis-like structure employing bamboo stakes and jute twine. No, we didn't construct a rudimentary lathe. But we did develop something that we can continue to build on through the season, allowing it to grow with the tomatoes instead of expecting a static structure to support them through the months ahead.

We're also putting in blueberry bushes in lieu of rose bushes by the front steps; Michael is all excited about soil amendments and getting them into the ground and I'm more cautious, wanting to only plant them once as opposed to finding that they won't get enough sunlight in the places we want to plant. The role reversal is a little peculiar; usually I'm the one who leaps headlong into things.

I have reestablished my herb garden and it's a lot more extensive than one might have thought. Honestly, I'm just glad that it's working with me instead of against me. I put in the last few plants over the weekend, marjoram and sage and Thai basil bought for a song at the farmer's market. As for the other plants acquired and now happily growing along in the garden proper, we have cucumbers (both pickling and slicing), zucchini, pumpkins, butterstick squash, jalepenos, sweet banana peppers, and green bell peppers joining the tomatoes, radishes, spinach, beets, carrots, peas, and other assorted peppers already taking off. Still to come? More beets and carrots, as the first batch was not as successful as we would have hoped, and corn, with peas and radishes ready for a fall planting.

We hosted our first big party here last night and I think a good time was had by all. While I was much more occupied playing hostess than actually settling down and kicking back with the guests, there were a lot of nice moments.

And I ended up with a clean house and a finished website as well. It's all good.

On the agenda today, picking up our kids who spent the night with friends' kids, watching a metric ton of cartoons for the paper of doom that's due on Thursday (not Friday!), wrapping up the advertising paper, and basking briefly in both the news that the Disney collection has a publisher but also that the chapter for said collection is due in a while as opposed to RIGHT THIS MINUTE!

For my next trick? Book reviews and working on a co-authored article for a MST3K collection.

Really, really grateful. Things are looking good.