Molly Goatwax

Centering

Oh my, it's time to yank my socks up, pull my snout out of the Saint Peter's Porter and turn off the pig news T.V. on Plushnet. I need to get my hair cut. I need to gather my level and tacks and photograph some artwork. After that, I need to pick up my permit for the bar to open Sunday and meet the beer truck guy.

Blog is not journalism

All these people at the side of the road are waiting for the bakery truck to come by and throw doughnuts at them. After that a herd of pigs snatching doughnuts out of peoples' hands was led down the street. Then the cops arrested everyone with sticky fingers. People were diving under parked cars and slinking down allies in search of moist wipes. The taverns hard by the base of the spectacle overflowed and homeowners complained of shrubbery damage. The partial remains of an escaped pig were found barbequed in an adjacent playground....

Jinglepockets

Yesterday I went to the Notorious Mount Royal Tavern with a fist full of dollar coins taken from my register to avoid confusion, Sacagaweas and Susans, but they didn't last very long. That's what happens when you go out drinking with the girls, I suppose.

I try too hard

I bet you're tired of hearing about how I'm a moron and all. It can't be as wearisome as actually being a moron, or mentally challenged, or as one roomate put it when I landed in his house: an idiot savant. I asked him what that was and he laughed at me. Another idignity. Well. I am just going to put on fresh socks, kiss the tot, gather up the orange cat and go burrow in my little pink flannel nest. Good Night! Oh! Is there any blueberry pie left?

Rocket Science

How the cold petrifies my extremities! The recent arctic snap had me frozen to the brain! This odd collection of rooms we live in has radiators in the original structure and baseboard heaters in the sun porch and addition. Some of the baseboard heaters are controlled by thermostats on the wall and some have individual switches at the unit. We haven't been tinkering with them long enough to find the right balance between comfort and thrift and frankly, we are idiots in the mechanical department, as evidenced by the discussion I had with Hubby yesterday. I was standing in the hall behind the dining room looking at a pair of thermostats wondering, again, why the temperature in the room was 60 while the furnace was set to 75. I shifted the switch on the first panel and Hubby reminded me again that I had turned on the control for the air conditioning. Yes, but...it also says auxiliary heat on it. He challenged me to find an auxiliary heater, so I followed the hum to the basement and identified a second furnace, or heat pump, or what-have-you! Ah Ha! Now they are both set to just under 70 and I don't need to wear the overcoat indoors.

and yoursef?

The meatloaf turned out nicely. It was so good it helped the plush toy pig beat the reindeer and panda at poker. Long story, don't ask. Otherwise. it was one of those days during which nothing worked until it was barked at, into submission. Even then the leak in the first sink only slowed a little.

Domestic Concerns

Life is full of mysteries. Chief among those puzzling me today is; who in tarnation was scraping my walks at 5:30 AM and salted them up to a fare-thee-well? Was it the dentist's contract whose work has not expired, as Hubby suggests? The consierge from the next dentistry over? Adjacent homeowners who park their overflow in my lot? I am also pondering the flat tire we filled with the personal compressor so that I could drive the car to Ike's for a repair that was deemed uneeded. Huh. The tire had no discernable leaks. I wonder how long that will last. Tommorrow: meatloaf. How do I get it to taste just like the ones Hubby grew up on without ever having met his mother? I will look for clues on the bread crumb tin. How do you make it? And what do you serve with it?

Wintery Mix!

Oh boy, we are having a bit of weather! Earlier I walked around the corner for Hubby's milk and a Sunday paper. While I was there I snagged a blueberry pie and a half gallon of vanilla ice cream. The rosy cheeked young man who rung me up was jubilant as he called out; "This is SO what you need for a blizzard!" Yeah. He got that right. Me 'n the pie, we're holin' up for a few days. Where's the whoop cream?

Can't win for losin'

Go ahead, laugh all you like. I think the twelve dollar patch from fixing the nail hole has failed and my tire is flat. Again. I have gotten more flat tires in my brief driving career than most get in a lifetime. Hubby's gone to get a personal air compressor for me. That dear, sweet, patient man. Whilst he's fussing with my tire, I'm going to go get cat food purloin the corners-like-a-shopping-cart van and careen on down to the Notorious Mount Royal Tavern.

The turn of which century?

One of the things I like about living in Baltimore is that fresh produce can be bought from horse drawn carts that are walked through the neighborhoods, on routes. You can hear the clop of hooves and the jingle of harness bells from blocks away. The pair of vendors, called "A-rabs" or "A-rabbers" that come down Hampden Avenue to 23rd routinely stop in the public house to make sure we have our vegetables. Yesterday they stayed a bit to warm up from the cold wind. They also wanted to unload the last of their bananas before they turned brown from the freeze, so I bought some of them, mindful of how soothing they are for the stomach. We made small talk, passed platitudes, exchanged bits of wisdoms and spread snatches of rumors, and as one commented that it was good to see my side door locked, the other confirmed that he knew we'd been robbed a few months ago and that they keep watch over such things. Then he coaxed me into taking five pounds of new red potatos for a dollar because he really wanted to make sure I'm taken care of as best they can. I have the better part of a roasted beef reposing in the freezer waiting to meet its hash...if only they carried parsnips about in that cart!