Life

Generations

I have been pretty lax about posting this week. I swear it’s not just the lazy in me. While laziness is, indeed, usually the motivation behind my days off, this time I have a good reason… I’m having a grandson!

My daughter has been in the hospital now for over 36 hours. Seems the little guy is pretty comfy in his current location. The doctors have served that stubborn baby with several eviction notices, but he’s doing this on his terms. Don’t tell her I said this, but he’s like his Mommy in that regard.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like I will get to hold Little Man right away. I started running a fever the very day we learned my daughter was going to be induced. Now 2 days later, my head is full, my throat is burning, my lungs ache, and I’ve become one of the world’s leading mucous producers. This does not please Gigi. Lucky for all of the other ultra excited family members, that’s one less person to fight for cuddle time. Good thing I have a whole lifetime of hugs and kisses waiting for me when I feel better.

Hopefully today is the day! My daughter would rather not have a Halloween baby. However, we’ll all take a healthy baby when he decides he’s ready, no matter what day it is. He’s not even born yet, and he’s already calling the shots.

The featured photo is from my daughter’s baby shower. With her and I are the baby’s great-grandmother and his great-great-grandmother. As soon as our little guy arrives, both sides of my family, my mother’s and my father’s, will have 5 living generations.

“Women are creators. We make families and connect generations together.” ~Patricia Ann Goodman

I’ll update everyone when there are pictures to share!

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Hot Garbage

What I am about to say is not about my social beliefs or feminism. It’s more about OCD. I needed to say that before I say this… taking out the trash is man’s work. I don’t have a garden, nor will I ever own a pottery wheel. I thoroughly detest having filthy hands. I refuse to grow out my fingernails because of the disgusting, bacterial contaminated shit that gets under them. The very thought of getting dirty launches my gut into my throat. Sure, maybe that does speak volumes about the state of my sanity. However, to those who know me, this is not news. My husband did not marry me for my willingness to touch waste. So, when I do tackle the monumental task of removing the full trash bag from the trash can inside and transporting it to the dumpster outside, I kind-of expect to be thrown a goddamned parade.

I almost never ask my husband to do anything around the house. I’ve pretty much got that covered. Plus, he has the gift of sight. He can see what needs to be done. Typically, he doesn’t need to be told anyway. He’s totally willing to help… except when it comes to the garbage and recycling. If I don’t specifically ask someone to remove the bag when it is full, my hubby and my son will cram their waste into that can until it is threatening to vomit hot garbage all over the kitchen. I hate to nag, so it gets to that point more often than I should publicly admit. I am also starting to think that the recyclables are invisible until I point out that the heap is nearing counter height. Only then does anyone but me seem to notice that repugnant grime is reaching critical mass.

This morning, the kitchen smelled like burning death. Initially I was just going to leave it until my husband got up, but I was consumed by the stench. Plus, he has a rare day off from work. I decided to grant him a reprieve and just take care of it myself. Sometimes a vacuum effect causes the bag to get stuck, making it a real challenge to hoist the trash out of the can. Not today. Today that sucker slid right out. I should have been wary but I was too busy being pleased… until I realized why. Seems there’s not much of a vacuum effect when there is a large vertical tear in the bag. This one spanned from the very bottom corner all the way to 3/4 up the side of the bag. The minute that sack was liberated, 4 day old refuse began spewing free of its confines.

I’ll spare you the details of the moist, oozing hell that I had to touch with my now forever unclean hands. It’s not that I don’t want to gross you out. It’s just that we haven’t reached the worst of it yet, and I am already grossed out myself. For God’s sake, swampy garbage bread disintegrated in my fingers. I cried a little.

I finally managed to cage the steaming heap of trash can discharge. I transported it outside, gagging and convulsing along the way. The dumpster is almost as tall as I am, so holding the lid open while hoisting a rather heavy bag into it is awkward, to say the least. I managed to heave my swill bag up and in successfully. However, the weight of that percolating rubbish jarred the lid free from my hand the moment it hit the bottom of the dumpster.

Before I tell you what happened next, I should mention… it rained here for 4 days straight. There is water everywhere…

That lid slammed closed with what seemed to be the force of an Oldsmobile falling off of a bridge and crashing into a swamp 30 feet below. The water on top of the lid, the water under the lid, pure, vile garbage water, sprayed clear to my neighbor’s yard. You know what was standing between the dumpster and the neighbor’s yard? ME. I took the vast majority of that disease polluted wave of scum water directly to the face. Oh yes, I GOT DUMPSTER WATER IN MY MOUTH.

So, from now on, unless I’m ferried down Main Street as the Grand Marshall of the Garbage Day parade, sporting a sash & crown, sitting atop a streamer adorned float, while princess waving to my adoring masses, I am never, ever taking out the trash again.

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Revamped!

My blog redesign is complete! OK, maybe “complete” isn’t the appropriate word, but it is certainly very close. I’m actually quite pleased with the result. Changes include:

– Links to pages are across the top of the page instead of along the side.
– My About page has been rewritten.
– I have added a Short Story glossary page.
– A Photo Gallery has been added.
– Several links and navigation tools have been added for ease of use.
– A Poetic Forms glossary is under construction. If you are a poet, please take a look at this and consider contributing! The more knowledge that is shared, the more beneficial this section will be.

I had fun with this. It reminded me of a job I used to have. Well, sort-of… I got the pleasure of doing the work without any interference from incompetent upper management, delays due to lazy co-workers, or self-entitled department heads demanding a rush because of their inability to prioritize. So yeah, way better than that job. Anyway, if you are working on a redesign for your blog and run into a snag, I’d actually like to help. Just hit me up!

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ArtPrize ~ Intersections

ArtPrize 2014 has arrived, and brought with it summer-like weather! I was supposed to be working on my blog re-design yesterday. Instead the warmer temperatures and a blazing ball of sunshine beckoned me outside. Lucky for me, my entire city is currently an art exhibit. It was truly an incredible day.

It’s difficult not to share every single photo I took yesterday. If you’re not familiar with ArtPrize, you can read about it here. The more you learn about it, the more you’re going to want to plan an early autumn trip to Grand Rapids. This isn’t just another local art contest. Artists from all over the world converge on the city of Grand Rapids for 3 weeks. The public gets a say in the voting. There are sculptures in the park, statues on the streets, murals on buildings, installations in the river, musical entries, and even a burlesque show titled ArtPrize, The Musical. It’s a spectacle.

I shared the featured photo above on Twitter last night. That particular exhibit has received quite a lot of buzz, with good reason. I had to see it twice yesterday. I hope to see it again before it’s gone. I don’t know how, but I got a few seconds alone with “Intersections” by Anila Quayyum Agha last night. My husband snapped a photo of me gazing upon it in awe. The cube that seems suspended in midair is carved from wood. The light on the inside casts intricate shadows all over the installation space. This piece has a room all to itself inside the Grand Rapids Art Museum.

I saw hundreds of pieces of art yesterday. There are about 1,000 more to see. I won’t be bored anytime over the next couple of weeks. Oh, and while I was out in search of entries, I stumbled upon a park I haven’t visited in nearly 20 years. Since it’s less than a mile from my house, I really can’t say why I haven’t been there. I forgot about it I guess. The view of the city from that park is stunning. In a couple of weeks, all of the trees in this picture will be splattered in reds, oranges and yellows. I will be back for that for sure.

Here is the featured photo again. If you want to see all of the intricacy in larger detail, just click on it to open it up:

Good luck to all of my magically creative friends who have entries this year! I can’t wait to stop by and admire your talent!

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Please Excuse the Mess

Renovations are in progress! The time has come to make a major overhaul on the appearance and functionality of my blog. I loved the Dusk til Dawn theme, still do. However, it best served me back when the blog had little content. It is not the most efficient layout now that I have been around a while.

My goal is to maintain the simplistic aesthetic while adding easier navigation, better formatting on phones & tablets, and a more professional presence. All of my existing content is available during construction, of course. However, I expect there to be a fair amount of trial and error during this process, so it may be a few days before I put up a new post. Please bear with me.

In addition to navigation and format, I want to improve my blog so I can include additional information. I will still post poetry, short stories, photography, and novel tidbits. I am also building an area into the site for an interactive glossary. There will be more on that soon.

Thank you for your patience while I tinker around. If you have any suggestions or feedback regarding the new layout, by all means, leave a comment. I could use all the help I can get. As always, thank you for following & reading. I hope when the dust settles, it is an even better experience for all.

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