Waiting for a Pope

A deeply Catholic friend of mine flew to Rome three days ago, so she would be present for the Arrival of our New Pope.  She had never been to Rome before, so she went on a mad dash of all the tourist sites:  the Pantheon, the Colosseum, the Trevi Fountain.  So of course, for her first photo of the Eternal City, she had to email me this fantastic, unforgettable view.  LOL.

                                                    "I will never forget Rome!"                                  

Oscar Watching

Who should win the Oscar:

Best Picture:  LIFE OF PI
Best Director:  ANG LEE
Best Actor:  DANIEL DAY LEWIS
Best Actress:  EMMANUELLE RIVA

I don't really care about the rest, except that LIFE OF PI should win as many Oscars as possible!  (Eventually, LIFE OF PI would win 4 Oscars:  Best Director, Best Original Score, Best Cinematography and Best Visual Effects.)

PS. I just found out about what is in the Oscar Goodie Bag this year.  I believe all nominees receive these lavish treasure chests of stuff worth approximately $45,000!  Cannot be re-gifted to the 99%.  Gifts include:

A $795 water filtration system
A $200 custom set of candles
A $12,000 trip to Australia
A $5000 facelift procedure
An $1800 one year membership to Heathrow's private VIP service
A $3000 holiday at the St Regis Punta Mita Resort in Mexico
A $600 course of acupuncture treatments
Circus lessons for the nominee's children worth $400
$850 worth of personal trainer sessions

Hurmmm ... I guess they couldn't squeeze in the Porsche this year.

"I could eat you up."

 

 

                                         

Sunday Routine

8AM.  The day starts with me in bed and the dog shrieking in my ear. "I WANT TO GO OUT!  MY BLADDER IS ABOUT TO MESS UP YOUR FINE WOODEN FLOORS!"  So out he goes.  He also gets a breakfast of 3 or 4 snausages and a tiny sprinkle of the kibble with which I feed a friendly three legged feral cat.  After the dog finishes killing the grass, I go back in the house and eat my brekkie which is always 2 hard-boiled eggs on Sunday, whites discarded.  Meanwhile, my 86 year old dad has already finished his meal of whole grain bread slathered with peanut butter, leftover turkey or chicken or pork, tiny dried Philippine fish called dilis (Teriyaki flavour), an apple, 6 strawberries (microwaved because of those pesky strawberry germs) and 5 or 6 nuggets of See's chocolate Bridge Mix.  He eats a variation of this meal everyday, 3 times a day, and weighs only 130 pounds. He makes me sick, LOL.

9AM.  I don't know why I watch all these stupid political pundit shows on Sunday. I only truly respect Bob Schieffer of FACE THE NATION but he interviews too many publicity-seeking politicians.  And of all the loudmouth panelists (I'm looking at you, George Will, with your snotty Pelopponesian War metaphors), I only like the economist Paul Krugman.  Perhaps I'm hoping to learn something new, but really, none of these overpaid dweebs have changed in 15 years.

10-12PM.  If I didn't have my 2 boiled eggs, that means brunch with a friend at Canele, a very popular Atwater bistro. Afterwards, we might swing by the Atwater Farmers Market for some flowers, or go to Starbucks for a caramel frappucino.

1PM -5PM.  I don't do much on Sunday afternoons.   Yeah, yeah, I know I'm retired, and everyday is a lazy Sunday afternoon. But I.REALLY.DON'T.DO.ANYTHING.  I don't garden; I barely take a stab at the dirty dishes; I sneer at dust bunnies. If I'm feeling a little hyper, I might open a bag of pork rinds and chew my way through it for 4 hours.  Or I might read something.  Right now, it's ASSASSIN'S CODE by Jonathan Maberry, and MAXED OUT: HARD TIMES IN THE AGE OF EASY CREDIT by James Scurlock, because I just love fuming about debt.

6PM - 1AM.  Dinner is usually something deliciously frozen like fish sticks. Heh. Or I might order pizza from KRISPY KRUST. Or I might fry this special vinegary marinated fish my dad gets from Philippine groceries.  TV is AMAZING RACE (new season this weekend, huzzah!) and the conclusion of DOWNTON ABBEY.  Sniffles. (I already checked YouTube for spoilers.)  And bed is usually between 1 and 2AM because I'm a news junkie and I can't help checking out the web for news of a giant sunspot which will destroy us all by lunch tomorrow.

                                                  The *Fascinating* Bedside Table

The Next Five Years

 Okay, I’m retired. No more whining about boredom, the Wickedness of my Ex-Director, the overpaid good-for-nothing library management, the eye-rolling tedium of staff meetings, and the sad lack of cheez doodles in the vending machine.  So I’ve finally decided to make a list of things I want to complete within the next five years.  Hopefully, these goals will give my retirement some substance, some sense of meaning.  (Hurmm, I wonder what it means to watch 120 episodes of FRASIER in 2 months. Eck.)

1.     My most important goal is to pay down my credit card debt.  Last year, Feb. 2012, my debt was around $65,000.  Yes, folks, $65,679, to be exact. This is what happens when you have 8 credit cards and a taste for antique Spanish Colonial sculpture, high-end fabrics, expensive decorating books, and a PRIME account with AMAZON.  So what if I look like a Beyonce of Fleece – I had an 18^th century Portugese Madonna!  Eventually, I decided this was unsustainable, and as of today, Feb. 7, 2013, my debt has been reduced to $53,000.  Hopefully, within four years, my credit card debt will be wiped out to near-nothingness!

2.     Save $6000 for a month in London and $4000 for 2 weeks in Rome.  It would be so easy to just put this on my paid-up credit cards ($15,000 credit available!) but I’m not going to do that. I’m going to see if I can squeeze $50 a week into my Savings Bell Jar.  (It’s so nice to stare at a glass jar full of beautiful, slightly crumpled cash.)

3.     Start a little zine of my own.  I’ve always been fascinated by these eccentric little self-publications, so I’m going to see if I can make one too.

4.     Lose 30 pounds.   I’m on my way!  I’ve lost 6 pounds already since retirement, and I’m not even sure how it happened.  It was probably the weeding.

5.     Create a lovely cottage garden!   So far, my garden looks nothing like Hidcote or Barnsdale, or any of those hateful flowery things on YouTube, but I’ll be patient.

6.  Read 25 books every year.  I can probably do better than this, but not if I keep re-reading SHOGUN or my worn-out copy of THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF GHOST STORIES.

7.  Start a used bookstore/curio shop with my sister.  I don't know if this will ever happen, but I think it's a lovely dream.

                                    That Portugese Madonna

Ann with an E

I'm not overly fond of the movie LES MIZ (seriously, the poor French never seem to take baths during revolutions!) but I think this parody of dirt-smeared Anne Hathaway singing out for an Oscar is hilarious!  Enjoy!

                           

My Dog Is Not Sick

Usually, when I read about dogs on blogs, the wretched animal is already ill, has lost his appetite, or on his last weepy trip to the vet.  So I would like to introduce to you: my 6 year old Maltese Tiger who is not sick (knock on wood!), eats like a pig, and weighs a hefty 10 lbs., which is about 4 lbs. more than what an average Maltese should weigh.  He also barks at anything that moves on the street; he hates cats; and he will try to bite my feet if I dare leave him behind.  (I guess he knows that if his owner has no feet, she can't go away.)  And since he is a Maltese, he is also quite the needy little bugger who howls like a banshee when he is all by his lonesome. Tsk tsk tsk.

                                             "Go ahead & leave me .. I dare ya .."   

Computer update 3:  My sister said I would only have to pay her $1400 instead of $2000 for the new computer because she feels sorry for me.  Huzzahh!  I must say that it certainly didn't hurt to wave that measly pension check in front of her at the breakfast table.

My .. Err, Winter Garden

Thank God for a sustained week of warm weather.  After shivering in my thick wooly socks and harlequin-bright fleece pants since mid-December, I have finally ventured into the garden to survey the lay of the land.  The freesia and ranunculus bulbs I planted in late October have sprouted healthy clumps of leaves (some of the blade-like freesia foliage measure nearly a foot & a half), but so far, I see nary a flower bud.  Because this is California, a few of the roses are still in flower including an ever-blooming Lady of Guadalupe and a 4 year old Rhonda which I am training to grow around an arch. Three weeks ago, I decided to do some serious seed-sowing -- that is, I opened a 6 gram bag of *Carousel* zinnias (good until 2014!), and freely tossed the contents into the rain-softened ground.  Some sprouted, but more were eaten by birds, who were already having a grand old time eating the kibble I set out for the neighborhood's feral cats.  I also planted cherry rose nasturtiums and the sweet pea *America* -- mainly, because the seeds are large & manageable and easily planted with a chopstick.  Just poke a hole with the pointy tip, drop the seed, then cover.  I hope something shows up by February.  

Did I mention that I also found some nice flowering rose-orange coloured snapdragon in Home Depot for $1.99 for 6 plants?  Huzzah! I love Cheap!  I bought 36 plants (should have bought more) and planted them amongst some ugly, newly pruned shrubs, where they attract so much attention that passing toddlers pull them out of the ground to give to their mothers.  Damn it, you kidlets!  Drive to Home Depot and get your own crummy snapdragon!

                         
                                                                 In my dreams ...