Tom DeLay - Ugly, or Just Vindictive?

Tree Frog by ZooNet

Tom Delay

"Being called vindictive and partisan by Tom DeLay is like being called ugly by a frog."

District Attorney, Ronnie Earle
Austin, Texas

Debacle Foot Repair

Miracle Foot Repair

Today I went to CVS and bought a fairly expensive tube of foot cream. I only had a limited time to shop because I had to pick Connor up at school, so I admit that I did not read the label thoroughly. For that matter, I didn't really look at the pictures on the box. Now I'm at home rubbing my feet with $10.00 lotion and I'm reading the label. The active ingredient in Miracle Foot Repair is MENTHOL. The only things I know that have menthol are Kool cigarettes and Vick's vaporub. I was a little put out to find menthol was the only active ingredient in the lotion, because I have been putting Vick's on my feet for years and paying significantly less. What makes my impulse purchase more comical is the picture on the back of the box. The heels on the feet pictured look like really ugly shoulders, and the toes on featured in the bottom picture look like they were placed on the model's feet backwards. I am a RUBE!

The Good, The Bad and the @#%*&!

Retrographics by Finijo

I started this morning off in pretty poor style, when I could not find my keys. I used the spare car key to get to work, but I gave my spare house key to Connor so he could get when school started, so I ended up leaving the door unlocked. I felt like refried caca most of the day, probably stress from losing my keys and leaving the door unlocked like an idiot. I arrived home and I ended up finding my keys when I stubbed my big toe on the Dirt Devil I left lying on the floor and let out an expletive, to which Connor commented nonchalantly, "I've heard worse." I had to ask, "What is worse than that word?" "That word when you say it with other bad words. I've heard you, you know." Unable to deny it, I said, "You are absolutely right!" He grinned in the triumph that can only come when one has proven their point.

THE GOOD - I found my keys and Connor made a valid point.
THE BAD - I lost my keys.
THE @#&*! - My liberal use of expletives

The Good, the Bad, and the REALLY @#%&*!

Tom DeLay was indicted today!!!

THE GOOD - The indictment
THE BAD - Tom DeLay - he is rotten all the way to the core of his being!
THE @#%&*! - My liberal use of expletives as I exclaimed my supreme delight at what will hopefully be the beginning of the end of Sugarland's own Boss Hogg! May he get the full sentence and no time off for good behavior, and may they tack on extra time for his egregious redistricting of Texas. Tom DeLay is a pariah among politicians, and that is the nicest thing I can say about him!

Clear, Sunny and Off for Two More Days

Sun Shot by Finijo

It is a beautiful, clear and sunny day. People are streaming back into Houston and some businesses have opened (mostly fast food and gas stations). I was notified by phone this morning that I am off work until Wednesday. HISD sent out notification that school is closed until Wednesday, so Connor is off too. Marilyn hasn't heard what is happening with her job, yet. Her office is located in the 4 block section of downtown that has been shut down for repairs, so, she will probably be off , as well. I can't believe I don't have anything to do for two days. What a surprisingly weird and wonderful way to start the work week.

LATER THAT EVENING:

Time Warner Cable Sucks by Finijo

I just need someone to explain to me how we got no flooding, no real damage of any kind, not enough rain to amount to a spitting contest, but this evening the cable went out. We have had a blinding snow storm on the screen for the last five hours, but throughout Rita, we not only had electricity, we had cable. When we called Time Warner (6 times so far), the line is busy. There is nothing on the website. I don't mean to be whiney about this (but yes, I realize I am being whiney about this), but we've been cooped up in the house since Friday with nothing to do but prepare for Rita and fret. The preparations were wasted (as was the fretting), and now the city is a virtual ghost town with no businesses open, and I have an unexpected mini-vacation for the next two days that I really didn't need, since I am still trying to get up to speed on my new job. Tonight the season premiere of Desperate Housewives was on at 8:00 PM and a new episode of Footballers Wives was on at 9:00 PM - this was to be a night of purely raunchy escapist television - and we have no way to express our displeasure with Time Warner outside of blogging it - since they don't have a working phone number. I guess when the cable goes out, having a cable phone is a disadvantage - someone should tell Time Warner.

Rita The Morning After

The Morning After Rita by Finijo

The morning after Rita, this is the scene that greeted me when I opened my door. Not too bad, given the predictions. I propped the rose bush back up and righted the potted plants and went out the gate to see how the world fared in Rita's wake. The only word that can describe what I saw is anticlimactic. It's not that I hoped for mass destruction, it's just that we didn't even get enough rain to water the plants. Seriously, as soon as the wind dies down, we have to water the plants, because I held off watering them while waiting for the downpour and the heavy winds seem to have dried them out even more.

West View The Morning After 9:30 AM by Finijo

East View The Morning After 9:30 AM by Finijo

The sky still looks ominous, but for now we only have wind and some drizzle. The wind seems stronger today than it was last night, but I think we are out of harms way at this point.


Carport Damage by MEG

We didn't get a lot of damage, but part of the carport blew off and a tree behind our place lost a limb. I think we got pretty lucky since the tree was so close to the power lines. I could hear fire truck sirens throughout the night, so I know others did not fare as well.

Tree Damage by MEG

Tree Damage Close Up by MEG

Hurricane Rita Begins (sort of)

Rita Rainbow at 7:00 PM by Finijo

I went out to check the weather conditions at 7:00 PM and the sky did not portend the doom that the media has been predicting. Instead there was a beautiful rainbow that extended from one side of the boulevard to the other. It was too huge for me to get a good shot of the whole thing, so I snapped what I could.

Rita East View at 7:00 PM by Finijo

Rita East View at 7:15 PM by Finijo

It's 9:00 PM the night that hurricane Rita is supposed to roll into town, but nothing much is happening. The weather men all said she'd be cruising through Houston at 6:00 PM, but all was still clear at that time, and it is still clear now.

Rita West View 7:00 PM by Finijo

Rita West View at 7:15 PM by Finijo

I thought Rita arrived about 7:15 PM when the sky changed very drastically in just 15 minutes. I know the weather people keep saying that it will be dramatic and harrowing, but Rita is taking her sweet time getting here and the waiting is exhausting for us. I'm ready to hunker down (yeah, hunker), but we barely have drizzle and the winds are only about 35 mph, so far. Click here to link to a time lapse view of Rita as she rolled into Houston. It isn't a violent storm, but the footage is beautiful.

24 Hours to Rita

Rita 24 Hours Before by MEG

24 hours to Rita, and all is well. Who would think that such a wicked storm would be lurking just a day away?


Ominous Tower of Doom by MEG

We are riding out the storm in Houston and hoping the cell phone tower can withstand Rita's winds.


Drained Pool by MEG

They took the water level down in the pool about 2 feet today, so I'm not too worried about flooding this time around. We will head to Mom and Dad's place tomorrow morning, unless the weather predictions get better. The traffic is such a booger right now, I am not looking forward to driving in Houston.

Hurricane Rita

Lovely Rita by NOAA

I cannot believe that the behemoth known as Rita is barreling down on the Gulf Coast so soon after Katrina wreaked her havoc. I have been told that I don't need to come in to work tomorrow or Friday, but I don't have leave to take and I really don't have anything else to do. Marilyn has been told she is off with pay tomorrow and Friday and Connor is out of school for the rest of the week. I went to Sam's for water and was only able to get cases of Gatorade, Propel (a water drink), and crystal Lite. We have a huge tub of peanut butter, a box of granola and a freezer full of frozen vegetables and ice cream that we should probably eat in the next two days. I cannot imagine what lies in store for us after the horror stories that came out of Louisiana over the last few weeks, but I am sincerely hoping that Rita will weaken in the next two days, so that we don't have to find out. I may not post again until after this thing passes.

Honey Don't

Honey Don't

I just finished reading Honey Don't by Tim Sandlin. It was an ejoyable and fast read, funny and perfect escapist fare, but not a very deep reading experience. Honey Don't is the tale of Honey DuPont, a young woman from Texas, whose sexual liaison with the President of the United States results in his accidental death by flamingo. The cast of characters in this book is varied and improbable, but they propel the story forward and serve the greater comic good. The characters include a washed up reporter, Honey's Mafioso boyfriend, Honey's ex-boyfriend (who is now a gay pro football player), secret servicemen, a homeless schizophrenic poet, the First Lady, the coked-up Vice-President, and the psychotic Chief of Staff, who is secretly in love with the First Lady. Honey Don't is a classic farce and with the right cast and director could be a really funny movie. Sandlin's writing style reminds me of Douglas Coupland because of all of the cultural references, but definitely a lighter read. I enjoyed Honey Don't and think most people with find it funny and timely, This book was a nice introduction to Tim Sandlin's writing, making me want to check out Tim Sandlin's other books, as well.

Happy Anniversary to Me!

Series Still Lifes by Derrick Flood

Bricolage is now one year old. I wasn't sure when I started that I would be a very faithful blogger, but I didn't do too badly. My blog replaced my written journal, which was more personal and more inwardly focused. I don't think it is better or worse for me to blog, rather than journal. I've noticed that I don't process as much while I blog, but I like the creative outlet, so I guess it evens out.

Not a bad year in retrospect. It was a little angsty while I was going through the job search and interview process, but getting the job made up for that. Marilyn started a new job. Connor started sixth grade and we got a dumpster kitty.

The picture I posted with this entry brings to mind so many things I enjoy, like mahjong tiles, a circuit board, and a Tibetan sand painting. There is something to be said for versatility.

The Picture in the Dictionary

Connor - Clinically Depressed

This is the picture in the dictionary next to the word depression. Three out of seven school pictures has come out well. A bad year is when the retakes come out worse than the bad picture they were supposed to replace. I guess it's retakes again this year.

Zulu Leopard

Zulu Leopard Testicle

We have in our possession a specimen that once belonged to the rarest of endangered species...the famed Zulu Leopard of deepest, darkest Africa. The regal cat fought with a pride and viciousness not seen outside the jungles of the Dark Continent, but after a valiant struggle we managed to wrench from him one of his precious jewels.

Alright, it's a cat toy, but we call it a Zulu leopard nard.

Life on the other side of work

Free Cell by Finijo

I had my last day at work on the 30th and my assistant, Tammey and my officemates gave me a nice send off. Tammey put together a lovely gift basket of home canned pears, greenbeans, coffee, a gift card for more coffe, and biscotti and Shannon added some home canned salsas (green and red). Apparently, I missed the class on how to loaf on your last day at work. I worked a little late, trying to catch up on everything I needed to do before I left.

I worked so hard on my last day that I spent my first day off in my pajamas. I never took a shower and I never went out of the house, except to drop Connor at school in the morning. I asked him if he wanted a ride home and he said, "No. Mom gave me money for the bus." He has started to enjoy his new freedom and responsibility. I pushed him about picking him up and he said, "No. REALLY, I want to take the bus." What a big boy. I sat on my butt in front of the computer all day and scanned old photos and a memory book of Grandma Kate's and then e-mailed it off to the Apopka Historical Society. It was really fascinating to see how teenagers in 1926 dealt with graduation. About the same as teenagers did when I was one, and probably the same as they do now. The signatures in her memory book were silly, but maybe a little more formal than the way we signed each other's yearbooks in 1984. I didn't see one single "Stay sweet!" or "Friends 4 ever."

Today I got down to the business of working on all of the errands that I have not been taking care of because I had to work. I dropped Con off, picked up his Rx, dropped off his Rx, shopped, picked up my glasses, got new tires, took care of my taxes for my car, got a haircut (yes, a real haircut - about 6 inches were lopped off), paid rent, went to the mall to pay a bill, and now I just want to veg out and watch some T.V. before I crash. I really should do laundry, but I am just too tired. Tomorrow, I take the car in for inspection, have the recall stuff fixed on the car (finally) and see if they can get the "check engine" light to go off, because nobody has been able to when I have taken the car in twice before. If I complete all of my chores, I get to stay in my pajamas all day Saturday - my fingers are crossed. Pajama Saturdays rock!