Things that I'm Enjoying

Here's a short list of things that have recently come into my life that I am truly enjoying:

• Joan Didion's memoir - The Year of Magical Thinking, winner of the 2005 National Book Award.
  
• After her husband's death in 2003, she writes: "I remember thinking that I needed to discuss this with John. There was nothing I did not discuss with John. Because we were both writers and both worked at home our days were filled with the sound of each other's voices. I did not always think he was right nor did he always think I was right but we were each the person the other trusted. There was no separation between our investments or interests in any given situation" (16).
  
• I find this to be, in short, an illustration of what a good marriage is.
  
• Rishi tea, particularly the Jasmine Pearl kind. It is sooo yummy, and they have such cool-looking tea pots and mugs.
  
• Belle and Sebastian, a Scottish indie band - their sound is so upbeat and kinda goofy.
• Barriques Market, a truly divine coffee shop/wine cave/deli just down the road in Madison. The interior is like a French cottage, and they have the most comfy couches and chairs next to their fireplace.
• There and Back - another in the long line of MTV reality shows, but this one follows a former member of a defunct boyband as he tries to revive his music career and fight the cheesy boyband stereotype. It doesn't hurt that he and his girlfriend just had a really cute baby. It's great to see normal people on TV struggle through life's situations and then succeed.

Have a great Sunday!

...scout's lady

Does it snow a lot in Paris?

In the midst of wet, heavy, slushy snow, I find myself dreaming of a land far far away. The steps in Montmartre are captivating, yes?

Did you Texans know that there are 2 kinds of snow?
Well, there are - wet and dry. Dry snow is great to walk around in - it doesn't stick to anything, it's very soft and fluffy. And then...there's wet snow. SLUSHY. HEAVY. The lower part of my jeans were wet all day long just from walking through the parking lot. Who knew I'd be a snow expert?!

Many of us are crossing our fingers that spring is almost here...spring and summer are gorgeous in Madison, and I invite you all to visit.

In the mean time, I'm going to bed now.
...scout's lady

Planning a Trip

I wanted to take a poll of the group: what's your favorite travel website?

The s.o. and I are planning a mini-break (quick, a nod of the cap to whomever can name the hilarious heroine who obsessed about her mini-break with a certain Hugh Grant!) to Minneapolis. I've been there once, and he's not been there, so we thought it'd be fun to get away for a weekend visit.

Any suggestions for some websites to peruse to help us plan the weekend? I'm having trouble finding a good, reliable website whose opinion and recommendations I trust.

Even better - any suggestions for fun, cheap, and CLEAN places to stay? We'll hit up the Mall of America, but any other places we shouldn't miss?

Any help would be much appreciated!

...scout's lady

Here we go again

It's snowing again (expecting 1 to 3"), and since the rest of the country seems to be getting slightly warmer in anticipation of Spring, I thought I'd post some pictures to get some sympathy. :) We're still stuck in winter. But that's okay - we've got some homemade soup on the stove making the apartment smell super yummy, we've got TiVo'd episodes of Family Guy to watch, the Oscars are on this evening, and we've got nowhere to go. What a great Sunday!



Here's the view from the driveway, looking back at my apartment building. Here's the old Explorer getting a nice blanket.

"Are cosmopolitans girly drinks?"

Yesterday evening, we both really felt like beer and pizza, so we went to Pizzeria Uno's. I immediately ordered a Blue Moon beer, and while the s.o. examined the drink menu, the waiter said he'd return with my drink and get the rest of the order then. This gives my s.o. enough time to eyeball the cocktail list and choose the "Peach Cosmopolitan."

S.O.: Isn't that the drink that those girls drink on that show?
ScoutFinch: Sex and the City? Yes.
S.O.: Are cosmopolitans girly drinks?
ScoutFinch: Well, yes. But get it if you want.
S.O.: Naw, I don't know if I can get it.
ScoutFinch: Who cares? No one's going to question your sexuality.
S.O.: Why don't you order it, and we'll pretend that I'm going to drink your beer. We'll tell him that you decided you'd rather have the cosmo.

So, after laughing at and making fun of him, I agree to order the cosmo and pretend that I'd changed my mind (even though I'd promptly ordered the beer when the waiter initially approached...but hey, girls can be fickle!).

The waiter returns with my beer, I push it over to the s.o., and ask the waiter for the peach cosmopolitan instead. He gives me a slight funny look but goes with it. As we wait for the cosmo to be made, we both sip the beer, but intent to keep up the facade, he purposefully pulls the glass to his side of the table. I can't believe that he's so embarrassed to order a girly drink...first of all, NO ONE is paying us any attention, and should they even glance over, my s.o. is large enough and intimidating-looking enough that no one would even dare to question anything he did or said. Yet, here he is pretending to sip my beer to look manly while he anxiously awaits the arrival of his peach cosmo.

The big moment comes. The cosmo arrives and is placed in front of me. I can't help but laugh. It's PINK. Of course it's pink - it's a cosmo. But still...it's PINK. And the s.o. is going to drink it. I wouldn't care except that he'd made such a big deal of it. He makes me take the first sip (the facade is still alive!), and it's yucky. I'm not a cosmo fan, so I can't be sure if it was a bad drink or if I just don't like cosmos. I pass it to him for review - he didn't like it either but decides to down the disappointing cosmo in one gulp. When the waiter returns, the cosmo glass is empty and the beer glass is more than halfway full. You can see the look on his face: This huge could-be-a-football-player dude is dating a total lush! Lucky guy!!

I think the funniest thing about last night's charade was that nothing was as it seemed. The big guy ordered a girly drink. His little girlfriend ordered a beer. But instead, the big guy has a thirsty girlfriend.

So, I pose this question to you: are cosmos girly drinks? Did the s.o. have anything to worry about?

Feel free to weigh in.

...scout's lady

Cleaning house with a "helper"

So I'm on a cleaning house kick. I have a lot to do, but I'm making progress.

Here you can see my helper, hard at work. He's protecting my newly discovered wool cap and scarf (still with tags, nonetheless!). What would I do without my cap-and-scarf warmer?!

Happy birthday, Grannies!

A day late and a dollar short...but I still love my grannies! (My maternal grandmother is a twin, and Gay and Fay are identical in many ways - looks, smarts, know-how, and tell-you-how).

HAPPY 88th BIRTHDAY!!!

I don't have a picture of them on this computer...so if anyone wants to send me one, I'd love to post it here - they're very cute ladies.