Author Archives: Pamela

Plumbing Woes
My bathroom sink was all backed up again and in the process of trying to fix it, I broke the pipe under the sink. In my defense, I think the original installation was Mickey Mouse to begin with. It wasn’t even like a real pipe but more like a plastic slinky thing and it was all brittle and probably needed to be replaced anyway.

I decided that it can’t be that hard and I would do the homework to fix it myself. Who wants to spend all that money on a simple home repair? I found an online tutorial. First, I read the one about how to clear a drain and it said not to beat up on the pipe too much or you’ll break it and cause yourself a bigger problem.

Well, that would have been a helpful reminder an hour ago.

During the “working with plastic pipe” tutorial I learned there are three kinds of pipes PVC, CPVC and flexible PB and they come in difference sizes like 3/4″ 3/8″ and 1/2″ and that I should cut them with either a tubing cutter, hacksaw and miter or power miter or some other thing I didn’t write down the name of and apparently you need to make a good cut to make it work right (I was planning on using an old kitchen knife so I wouldn’t have to buy any tools).

Then I need an emery sheet and primer and cement and make sure I get the right kind for my application. I’m sure they aren’t sold under the kind, “for fixing broken pipe under bathroom sink.” I figured by the time I drive to the plumbing supply store, figure out what the hell to buy, probably be humiliated by some know-it-all plumbing store staffer who insists on knowing exactly how I broke the pipe because to be honest, I was pretty much beating up on it, get back home, try to actually fix it, tear my hair out, start drinking at 3pm rendering the rest of the day and evening a total wash: it might just be worth it to pay someone to come in here and do it for us. So that’s the plan.

Bird-Day Afternoon
Be sure to click on the photo to see a large version.

Bob and I went for a walk today during a fortunate non-rainy patch. Bob had the idea of going down to Frenchman’s Bar. From the path you could hear the geese making a huge racket and we could see groups of them all over the sky, making their formations.

As we were on our way back to the car the racket went up a few notches and we looked over and this ginormous cloud of birds raised up into the sky. It’s impossible to convey with words and this little picture. If it was a horror movie, this was the part where the blood-lusting [insert terrifying human destroying monster here] gears up for its major assault on mankind. OR, it was an amazing display of nature. The birds had no goal (that I could tell). It was one part chaos but there was some order in there, too.

They’d fly in one direction and then double back and the followers would turn around, too. Amazing to watch. On the ground: cows. They looked dirty and sad, or if you got a close up: stupid.

There is nothing that cures undereye bags. It’s like short legs or brown eyes. It’s part of your architecture.

Yeah, sure. Too much partying contributes. I’ve read all the beauty tips and proper hydration is important, plenty of rest, physical activity, proper diet, no tobacco, caffeine, alcohol or refined foods. (If you read magazines or newspapers, that list accompanies the solution for solving virtually any problem except debt.)

But for sure, products don’t work. Like diet books/pills/suits (yes, I bought a weightloss suit once — it looks like a sweatsuit made out of hefty bags and for reference, this was 20 years ago) and writing books/classes/teachers filled with surefire publishing tips, I have been duped dozens of times by products promising to firm, tone, tighten, brighten and reduce puffiness under my eyes.

They do nothing. I’ve also used cold spoons, cold compresses, cold slices of cucumber, cold teabags and ice rubbed directly on the puffy area. Cold is apparently critical. You’re better off just getting on with your day. The puffiness will reduce on its own. Or not.

But if you’ve tried something that works, let me know.

I have a what’s developed into a fairly long list of things to write about yet I always seem to think I’ll get to it later. Some of it is no longer topical, but who’s going to stop me?

When I was a girl, the Rose Bowl was on New Years Day, the same day as the Rose Parade. I thought the two events were linked. Some background info: there are no football fans in my house. I don’t look at the sports page or sports websites so unless it’s soccer or dare I admit it, figure skating, I have no idea what’s going on in the sports world.

I heard people around the office talking about the Rose Bowl game taking place not on the 1st and not during the day but on a random Wednesday night. WHY? Was it still in Pasadena?

Do they still have zillions of bowl games? They must, it’s got to be making money for someone. That used to be a big joke: The Orange Bowl, The Apple Bowl, The Toilet Bowl. Since I don’t watch the sport, I don’t know why I care, just things like that shouldn’t be changed without a press release or new bulletin.

Also I heard on the radio that there is no more Monday Night Football. How can that be? I remember the years that Monday night TV was ruined because Dad had to watch football. Hey kids: when I was a girl we didn’t have a TV in every room so if Dad wanted to watch football, hard cheese, we watched football.

But then, in those days I knew what was going on with football (sort of) and watched the Superbowl and as I recall, kinda enjoyed it. Now I only like sports where the guys look cute. Football? No. Baseball? Rarely. Basketball? Rarely. Soccer: YES! There are no ugly guys that play soccer with the possible exception of some eastern European countries who’ve got some gaggers (although rarely nothing that a good shave and some dental work couldn’t improve) on their squads. And while we’re on the subject, World Cup is only months away. Mark your calendars!

Yesterday we had a superfun day of bluegrass at the Rivercity Bluegrass Festival at the convention center downtown. I think I’ve explained this before but bluegrass is not something that I listen to at home. But spending a day seeing a bunch of bands live is always a good time.

A few highlights:

We caught Misty River finishing their set and they played one of the best songs I’ve ever heard: Home Grown Tomatoes. I think it’s an original but I’m not sure and I’m too lazy to figure it out for you. The chorus is: There’s two things money can’t buy, true love and home grown tomatoes. There’s a verse that says something like: when I’m gone don’t put me in a box, put me in the ground so I can push up home grown tomatoes.

This song could be the Orleans local anthem.

As I mentioned I enjoy hearing bluegrass live but I don’t have a deep appreciation for all the nuances and flavors. To me it sounds like two songs: the slow and mournful one or fast and plucky one. Generally someone has been done wrong or else there’s a train a comin’ or perhaps something Mama or Papa told them. During one set a woman told how she inadvertently stolen a melody from a fellow songwriter and I turned to Bob and said: How can they tell? All the songs sound the same.

At another point we were at the smaller stage and Bob leaned over and said the song was a Johnny Cash cover. Then he said, “Watch out, the Grateful Dead used to cover this song. You’ll see the Deadheads all nodding along.” I said, “Like the guy in the big pants?”

It took Bob a second to spot him and then he cracked up because there was this blissed out guy with tons of curly hair, nodding his head and wearing these enormous patchwork pants that looked like they were made from xmas tree skirts and fluffy felt and a single leg could be a cosy for the Eifel Tower. We spent the rest of the night looking for “the guy with the big pants.”

The headliner was the Yonder Mountain String Band, a band I’ve never really warmed up to. I thought they sounded a lot more accessible last night and not sure if I was more open minded or they took a different approach for this type of event. They’ll be back for three nights in August and Bob can tell me how it goes.

Can I whine about my cold for a couple seconds? Remember when this started last week and I said I had a bit of a headache and a scratchy throat? It’s gone downhill since then. Every day I feel a teeny bit worse than the day before. I’m sleeping worse each night. I’m coughing more and my head grows heavier with snot. Is this even allowed? Shouldn’t I be feeling better? Where are the cough drops?

Big River in Orleans
BG sent a picture of the high river so I thought I’d post it here with some comparison photos. You can click on the photos for a larger version.

I took this May 04 from the house looking downriver.

This is from 12.26.05 looking across the river at the house, right before we left after Xmas.

This is the photo that BG sent. You’re looking downriver toward the house. Wild, eh?

email oof
I had this spam filter thing set up and it worked great but at some point in the last couple weeks I had a paranoid moment because I hadn’t gotten any email at all and suspected my filter was haywire. [It made sense at the time.] So I turned it off. Suddenly my spam went up about 1000%. When I went to reset the filter how I used to have it, it was gone [obviously the gaping hole in user’s technical skills]. So I set up this other kind of filter and email went to zero again, including test messages I sent myself (from another account). I’ve gone back and turned this off.

Meanwhile, if you’re still reading and you sent me a message yesterday or the day before, I probably didn’t get it and you probably didn’t get a bounce notice. Could you send it again?