C'mon Fall!

Really?! Another day of mid-80's weather?! That's absurd. It's October, and you don't want me to be wearing socks? Or a sweater... or even a scarf?!

Remember how everyone said that summer sucked last year because it rained all the time and spring seemed to be meddling with Summer. Well, I don't want anyone meddling with my Fall, dammit.

I'm your huckleberry.

It could be the last sunny weekend of the year, and I came down with a heinous cold. What's worse, is that I was supposed to be camping out amongst the pines of the cascades, sipping tea, knitting and gazing across a pristine high-altitude lake with the grand reflection of Mt. Hood hanging impossibly close beyond.

Damn.

Perhaps it has been a hidden blessing, what with me sitting at home, relaxing (which is something that I find extremely difficult).

I am not a reader. This has become recently quite clear to me- especially now that I am co-habitating with someone who has an in-exhaustible huger for words, both fiction and non. I do envy this hunger, but always find that reading is a very passive activity, one which I choose once all other, more active, options have been ruled out (of which there are many).

However, when one is sick, and ones body shouldn't be eating sugar or dairy (which rules out baking), one shouldn't be out running about (which renders one housebound), and one is resolved to moping on either the couch or bed (both of which are ideal for reading).
The fact is that I have two excellent books on my night table (and more on my list that Nic has been making in his head and which is apparent by every time we go to Powells he suggests yet Another book. It's really quite sweet).

Thankfully, he left me and went camping. Thankfully for his sake. I am a miserable, miserable sick person who believes that life is ending and she cannot think of a worse fate than spending a weekend feeling like her sinuses will explode and only being able to breath through her mouth. Yep, just a common cold. No puking or aching hair follicles (flu) or bleeding out of orifices (Ebola). Nope could have been worse.
So, the end of this part of the story is that I was alone in my house all weekend and read some. I also knit and attempted to embroider another dish towel, but the stripes of the cloth and the poor quality of the iron-on transfer prevented me from doing so. But socks- I'm making progress (I'm crafty!).

I've also been netti-potting like crazy. It's satisfying in that somewhat disgusting way, similar to cleaning your ears, or your dogs' ears.

But now to the subject of this post. My dear friend Audrey offered to come over and bring Tombstone. I mentioned that I had a frozen pizza in the freezer, but that, alas, it was an Amy's frozen pizza, and not a Tombstone frozen pizza. Both the movie and the pizza were fantastic. The mean mustache that Kurt Russel brings to the screen was really no match for Val Kilmer's delicately waxed 'stache, southern wit and sensibility and unappealing pallor from TB that he wears throughout the movie. Definitely check it out (again, if applicable).

Lastly, and in tangential news, M4K PDX is in preliminary planning stages. Another one of my dear friends, Chrissy, and I organized Portland's chapter of Mustaches for Kids last year, and we're back for another round of fun shenanigans in mustachery. Check out out progress at http://m4kpdx.blogspot.com.

I think I'm going to go read now. Or knit. Or embroider.

Nesting.

About 5 years ago, when I came home from college for a holiday, I went to visit a dear friend of mine with whom I had grown up with. I was living in dorm room with 2 other girls with barely enough room for all of our clothing, let along anything that resembled furniture that was not standard dormitory: desk, chair and bed.


This friend of mine was 19, living on her own and had just bought a sofa set (couch, chair and ottoman), and also a washer and dryer. The part that blew me away was that all of these items were purchased New! Despite being a little blown away by her independence (she also owned a newer car, which is only relevant because the car that I owned before I sold it and went to college was a 1977 Dodge Colt purchased for $400), I was shocked by her materialism and even more that she seemed to be nesting. Who nests at the age of 19?! I couldn't grasp the concept. I was busy being independant in my own way... the kind in which you accru debt to your insitute of higher education in order to be an independant thinker and Student of Life. The nicest thing I owned was my laptop computer that was actually too nice for what I needed (My brother, a gamer, decided I needed a higher resolution and massive amounts of memory to run MS office... but just in case I decided I wanted to take up playing Warcraft or something).

Anyway, after 5 years I'm beginning to get hip to the nesting phenomenon. While It certainly makes sense to create a home in which you are comfortable and surround yourself with nice surroundings, I still can't really relate to purchasing brand new things on lines of credit. Our table from Ikea came to a grand total of $130 (thanks mom!). Perhaps I am nesting without illusions of permanence (easy to do when renting). Regardless, thoughts of making my home just that much more cozy or pleasant or livable are at the forefront of my mind. Part of me is worried about these constant thoughts that manifest them around materialism, but is overridden by the fact that I am supremely happy about my living situation. I suppose if material things bring this kind of happiness, the happiness of creating a home, it certainly can't be all bad. Especially when my only debt is to an insitute of higher education.



Also- one of the highlights of my weekend was having a discussion about non-euclidean geometry over margaritas on Saturday night.

Friday Musings.

Today is Friday. After an exhausting day of doing nothing but sit in meetings, sitting at my desk while the rest of the office is out wine-tasting and I'm reviewing the Advanced Payment features of the software program I'm learning (So, it's been almost 3 months, and I'm still beginning to figure out where I stand).
That being said, The best part of my day today was when I got to sign an e-mail to a client, "Better than a temp, Sarah"
The worst part of my day followed shortly afterwards when I realized that if someone were to come into my office with a gun, I would most likely be shot first.