Monday, January 19, 2009

Snippets

Bought a new latex mattress from IKEA this week. Woke up the last two mornings, leapt off the floor, where it's waiting for the new frames and platforms, feeling as though someone had NOT snuck in in the night and beaten me about the shoulders and back. Now I'm kicking myself because we didn't do this sooner.

Picked up Nini for a play day on Friday and as we were leaving, Bubs dissolves into tears: "Don't leave me, Mimi! Don't leeeeeaaavvve me!" Oh, the pathos! Kind of nice having your own Rodolfo, even if he's only two.

We had family dinner at Sissy's because Target's boyfriend, the multi-talented Davy, was in town. He had just come back from a tour of Europe the last time we saw him and had just finished shooting his own movie in nine days ("Like "Little Shop of Horrors?" I asked) this time. After dinner, we had a bowling tourney with the Wii. Ni had made Mii's (your little interactive persona) for everyone and they were all amazingly accurate. Bubs was a little critical of Marge's, though, and after he had asked for the twentieth time if "Target has scary eyes?", she got a virtual makeover. Wii is still the devil, though.

Went in to the agency to work on the Christmas volunteer numbers Saturday and saw a group out on the plaza in front of our building. Turns out they were "The Obama Group", some sort of supporters of the Pres-elect, and had brought us an MLK food drive and some $$$. All of which was greatly appreciated. Nice to think that they're walking the walk, not just basking in the rhetoric.

Am putting in raised garden beds in the back yard, to be a little greener and because the kids get such a kick out of picking things. Debating the merits of
a) raised beds made of cedar, a renewable resource, which can be taken apart, are cheaper and cost way less in S&H or
b) raised beds made of recycled milk cartons, which are more expensive, weigh a ton and cost oodles of S&H or
c) buying my own cedar boards at Lowe's and fastening them together myself for about 1/3 the price of cedar beds and no S&H.
This makes me understand why serious ecologists, faced with the realization that every single one of their acts has an impact on the planet, sometimes go nuts and decide that everyone, or at least 90% of us, MUST DIE! But not them, because someone has to run the sustainable, lo-tech villages for the remaining 10%.

Bubs came for the day on Monday, so his mom and Miss Diane could get some work done on their new business. She begged me to make him take a nap, so we went in the bedroom and read on our bed, then Mimi pretended to fall asleep. I heard him say, in different tones, like an actor trying out a line: 'It's not fair."
Low mutter. "It's not fair." Slight whine. "It's not faaiir." Loud declamation, with thigh slap: "It's not FAIR!"
Fine, Atticus Finch. It's not fair. Now go night-night, please.

4 comments:

mushroom said...

I'd go the Lowe's route (the Lowe road?). We use raised beds and have for a number of years for everything except corn and taters. Actually they are ideal for potatoes but, since I plant them early, I just use half my little corn patch.

Tell us more about the latex mattress -- is that like the memory-foam thing?

Sal said...

Yes, I'm leaning that way myself b/c then I can afford extra-nice dirt
and
the spouse and I love to build stuff together. "Some assembly required" is our favorite phrase.

The mattress is a Sultan Elsfjord. It's latex and pretty firm, but it's different from the Tempurpedic material, in that you don't sink into it. That was too 'floofy', as we say around here. And hot. So far, I really like it. I get up in the morning and I'm frolicking, I tell you.
It's fairly pricey- a twin is $700- but worth it.

Anonymous said...

Frolickin'? Then it just may be worth foregoing grog for. It's tough to put a price on frolickin'.

USS Ben USN (Ret) said...

If only I had a dime for every time I heard "it's not fair!"
Or the glazing of eyes while I tried to explain why it is, indeed, fair (sometimes this puts them to sleep).

At any rate, our daughters would usually target Mom with the not fairs, since she seemed to be a bit more susceptible. Ha ha!

Of course, they targeted me when they wanted chocolate cake or some other sugar filled substance (only while Mom was not home). The little rats woud then fink on me later, as if I forced them to eat cake for breakfast. Really, it wasn't my fault! It's not fair! :^)