Sometimes it's just fine...

Newest Earworm is actually Big Audio Dynamite's Other 99... this song makes me feel GOOD - this is kinda how life is for me right now:

Everythings not always great
Sometimes it`s just fine
No one gets ten out of ten
Lucky if it`s nine
No I ain`t the greatest
Sure there`s imperfections
And if you gave me a test
Might not pass the inspection
Everythings not always great
Sometimes it`s just fine
I ain`t with the 100 crowd
I`m with the 99...
Everythings not always great
Everythings not always great
Sometimes it`s just fine
Sometimes it`s just fine
No one gets ten out of ten
Lucky if it`s nine

So other earworms crawling around? The Good, the Bad, and The Queen "Herculean", Eddie Vedder "Hard Sun", Death Cab for Cutie "I Will Possess Your Heart, and....yes...Scarlett Johansson's cover of Tom Waits "Falling Down" - I'm totally surprised I love this and now I can't wait to hear the rest...Cousin Megan, don't hate me that I like it!!!

Happy Birthday to Jany!!

Yes, it was Jany's birthday this Saturday and we celebrated her birth in true Jany Style: by shopping, having our nails done, backs rubbed, and eating tasty food at Devin Tavern in Tribeca and then having champagne at Flute...we were totally Janyfied! Thank god I got a ride to the restaurant (in my pretty new dress and pretty new nails) because I have a hard time finding things in Tribeca...for Floating Head's birthday I had to cross a bridge near the Holland Tunnel and felt as if I was on Platform 9 and 3/4! And thank god I got a ride home as well because by the time we left Flute, it was close to 1 am and this girl does not stay up that late anymore...I didn't feel like I drank that much, it was sipped over many hours - 2 glasses of chardonnay at dinner (Charlie, you will be happy to know it was 14$ Chardonnay - yes I paid for it, not YOU) and then a kir royale sampler at Flute - 3 mini glasses in the flavors of my choosing: cassis, violet, and pomegranate - and then a final glass of Veuve Clicquot. BUT. I woke up on Sunday with a terrible migraine, one that put me out of commission for most of the day - I tried to sleep as much as possible. So now, it is time to repent and clear the bodies of alcohol Thetans...oh Xenu, clear me!! I shall eat only cucumbers and lettuce and sip supergreen juice for the next few days...and then this weekend, Floating Head and I have tickets to all THREE Mets/Atlanta games so that means beer and hot dogs, doesn't it... I'm just going to have to cleared all over again I guess.... such is life... I go from being a Roman Glutton to a Spartan Greek sometimes...

"Prayer is not an old woman's idle amusement. Properly understood and applied, it is the most potent instrument of action."

- Gandhi

Well it's late in the evening, and the music's seeping through

and the next thing I remember... I was climbing a ladder onto a boat off of Molokini after snorkeling and there was a BBQ going so there was that smoky charcoal smell and people laughing and I was very happy and this Paul Simon song was playing then as we ate our hamburgers and corn on the cob in the middle of the ocean and it just came on the radio now and it always makes me think of that Maui trip with My Little Buddy Veronica ... we saw lots of pretty fishies and giant sea turtles and the guide warned us not to get too close to the edge of the crater because there was an impossibly strong tide that if you were to get caught in it, you would ride it all the way to Tahiti and drown, and that terrified me ... but anyway, that was such a cool day, cool experience and now, everytime I hear that Paul Simon song, the memory of it all swims back to me ...

Check it out, we are legit...

http://www.qwaca.blogspot.com/

So go on and Google QWACA too ... see what you come up with on Wikipedia...

QWACA had an event this Sunday in Long Island City...it consisted of us getting a bit lost and walking around, terrified we would be abducted in a van (down by the river) and taken to one of the warehouses where we would be sold as sex slaves in Thailand...but then we finally found the little bistro Tournesal where we ogled the 2 cute French waiters and ate good frites and scrambled eggs and salad and a mimosa of course followed by bread pudding and then to PS1 for a very ANGRY and POOR PITIFUL PEARL feminist art exhibit - once again, I'll state that I do not much care for modern art especially the crappy variety such as this ... it just seems like not much effort and my sister's two dogs could poop on some canvas and I could hang it and someone would go "hey -ART!" ... plus, I was using my new big purple handbag and after being there an hour and having pretty much toured the place, this Ghetto Orc Security Guard came up to me and said that I had to check the bag because it was "too big and youse could totally steal some art" - so I got into it with the Orc and asked "are you kidding me?" and so we stomped out! How dare they persecute my purple bag like that? It was just a bad vibe there and we weren't into the loosely-termed "art" anyway so we hopped on the train to Target and DSW and for that, we were truly happy.

Viva La QWACA!!!

Colonial Good Times

Goody Lozano, working the loom...your blanket will be ready in 2 years...




Goody Lozano in her colonial cap


























Goody Swarts displaying her pumpkin butter



I have that look in my eye...what am I up to??


















Candlemaking!! That's what!

Rainy Days and Laundry Always Get Me Down...

Yes, exciting times ... its rainy and chilly outside, so I'm about to head home to do some laundry and watch Lord of the Rings on TNT AGAIN - or the Star Wars Saga on Spike...or Pride and Prejudice (yes with Keira Knightly...I can't STAND her, but I watched this a few weeks ago and found myself really liking it - almost as much as the Gold Standard of Jane Austen Movies, the one with Colin Firth, who makes your toes curl as you watch him). And to bed early so that tomorrow, I can NOT go to yoga, but instead, I came up with something fun to do. I was in a funk for most of this week and am slowly working my way back to Fraulein Maria-hood (more on that in a bit) and I didn't want it to fade, plus I'm having that feeling like I want to outrageously hop on a plane to Las Vegas and get away from NYC for a week. But money being what it is and all the things going on right now, it's just not feasible. So instead, I'm bucking up, thinking of raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens and taking a day trip instead. I'm going to The Van Cortlandt Manor in Croton on Hudson for a day of butter churning, cheese making and learning various blacksmithing skills...

Hands-on Heritage Crafts
http://www.hudsonvalley.org/content/view/15/45/

Come enjoy plenty of hands-on opportunities. Visitors of all ages are encouraged to take part in historic crafts during this celebration of colonial-era life. Make your own candles, sew a medicine bag and fill it with dried botanicals, operate the blacksmith's bellows, and take part in spinning, weaving, coopering, tinsmithing, hewing wood, quilting, open-hearth cooking, butter churning, cheese-making, and more. Food and beverages are available, or visitors can bring a picnic lunch.

That seems very Fraulein Maria-ish, no? Maybe you recall an earlier post of mine where I decided my moral compass was going to be Fraulein Maria and therefore, when in doubt, ask "what would Fraulein Maria do? Would Maria sit around and sulk because she had nothing fun to wear? No! She would rip those old curtains down and make some playclothes to wear while gallivanting around Salzburg. Would Maria let some bitchy Baroness take her position in the household? No. She would realize she needs to climb every mountain and face life head on and not hide in the abbey. See I had this realization while watching the Sound of Music (3 x in a row) on ABC Family a few weeks back...bear with me... Maria is the ultimate heroine BECAUSE:

1. Maria is moral and strong - she does the right thing while standing up for herself and generally speaks her mind

2. Maria doesn't let the meanspiritedness or the conniving plots of others manipulate her into changing her behavior. She does what is right for her, not because of trends or because other people might expect her to. She remains true to herself.

3. She is can outmaneuver Nazis.

4. She is crafty and practical - such as the curtain clothes making.

5. She is a master at turning around a bad situation - she is scared of going to the Von Trapp's yet she bucks up her confidence and asserts herself; simply sing a few lines of My Favorite Things and all is well - and you know it!

6. And in the end, she gets the man.

I could go on, but you get the idea - Fraulein Maria is AWESOME... so I'm attempting to be just like her, bowl haircut be damned!

Oh, I must stop these doubts, all these worries
If I don't I just know I'll turn back
I must dream of the things I am seeking
I am seeking the courage I lack
I have confidence in sunshine
I have confidence in rain
I have confidence that spring will come again
Besides which you see I have confidence in me...

Desiderata...

This has always been a comforting thing for me to read during stressful times, growing pains, etc - an icky week such as this one ... thats right, I've been in an icky blah mood and trying quite hard to go placidly amid the noise and haste and to remember that most fears are born of fatigue. So I post it now, hoping its good will helps you as well:

Go placidly amid the noise and the haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.

As far as possible, without surrender,
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even to the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons;
they are vexatious to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain or bitter,
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs,
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals,
and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love,
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment,
it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be.
And whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life,
keep peace in your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.