Category Archives: Blather

A Time for Everything

It’s a snow day here in Portland, Oregon. We got somewhere between six and nine inches of snow last night. Maybe even more, but given how bad I am at estimating sizes of things1, I won’t try harder to be sure.

It’s not the first snow day we’ve had, but somehow it feels more like a snow day than any other. Maybe it’s how damn much snow is out there, or maybe it’s how quiet it is inside. I’m not sure. Nor am I sure if I care to figure out the “why” rather than just experience things as they are. In this case, it’s a snow day kind of day. I have tea. I have an urge to write. My tea is in a new, fabulous mug from the fantastic Deb Cooperman, and it’s encouraging my tea-ing and writing.… Continue reading →

At A Loss For Words

Not being able to talk (or write) isn’t terribly normal for me. It’s not a spot I often find myself in; I’m a chatterer and, in case it wasn’t blindingly obvious from previous posts, opinionated. Typically, I have at least SOMETHING to say. Something to post.

Right now, though? I really don’t. I wrote a post about a couple of months ago on sexism in the beer community that I am super proud of, and that got a lot of (largely positive) attention. But it was draining. And a lot of the attention, even though it was positive, was also draining.

How much of my feeling drained was the fact that I wrote that post two days after moving house? Dealt with the aftermath of moving and working while dealing with the aftermath of reactions to that post?… Continue reading →

Juneteenth – 151 Years.

Last year, I marked Juneteenth for the first time on MetaCookbook. I have no intention of letting the day slip by ever again. As a twitter friend said, it’s as American a holiday as exists.

But, as with last year, I mostly want to encourage everyone to read something more about it. This year a greatly educational read for me was What is Juneteenth?. A bit more history, and some good comments on what other days would be reasonable to celebrate the end of legalized slavery in this country. And why 19 June remains appealing.… Continue reading →

“This Dog.”

Bill says it at least once a day. On rare occasion, it’s about Happy. But usually? Usually it’s this dog.

Super close up of a dog face. Can see one of her eyes and her muzzle.

She’s ridiculous. We love her in part because of it.

For example, she’s slightly too long for the stairs in the new house. So she kind of flops up and down them. We didn’t realize it at first, we just thought she was flopping because she’s goofy and excited ALL THE TIME. But today Bill noticed that she literally can’t take the stairs one at a time, because she’s just a hair too long. So? She flops. A lot.

She also does a number of cute things to get attention. Like, say, cuddles up to me, then turns to stare at Bill in the hopes he’ll pet her too.… Continue reading →

Real Life Vignettes and Thoughts

This is a bunch of thoughts I’ve had today and the last few days. I want to share them, but I don’t have the energy right now to “write like a motherfucker” and put it all into a real post. So, instead, I’m going to share these snippets here, then probably have a cup of tea, a nap, and unpack some more boxes.

I have a deck now, and it’s more important to me than I would have guessed. I knew I wanted a yard and a deck or patio. I didn’t know I’d be out here daily.

I didn’t know I could mow a lawn well. I’d never done it. But it’s done now. I’ll probably mow the front lawn tomorrow. It’s possible mowing the lawn will just be one of my chores.… Continue reading →